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QUEEN LOUISE OF PRUSSIA -Gustav Richter 

The beautiful and unfortunate queen. Unfortunate, because she ventured to dis- 
please the great conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon, however, always testified 
to her greatness and personal purity, and respected her all his life, citing her as an 
example of an illustrious woman, wife, mother, and queen. 




THE LAWS OF NATTJBE BEVEALED 

THE SCIENCE 

OF 

EUGENICS 

AND 

SEX LIFE 

THE REGENERATION OF THE HUMAN RACE 

THE PRIVILEGES AND DUTIES OF BRINGING CHILDREN INTO THE WORLD, 
ELIMINATION-SEGREGATION-SELECTION, THE RIGHT TO GET MARRIED, 
THE LAW OF OPPOSITES, THE MOTHER THE SOLE ARBITER OF HER 
CHILD'S FATE, HOW TO HAVE PERFECT CHILDREN, THE EFFECTS 
OF ENVIRONMENT ON CHILDREN, THE SCIENCE OF REPRO- 
DUCTION IN ALL ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE, HOW THE 
HUMAN BODY CAN BE MADE IMMUNE TO DISEASE, 
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL TRAINING OF CHILDREN 
AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRAIN OF 
A CHILD, THE SEXUAL LAWS OF NATURE 
AND THE EFFECTS OF THEIR VIOLA- 
TION, THE BIBLE ON SEX HYGIENE 

FROM THE NOTES OF 

WALTER J. HADDEN, M. D., Fellow Boyal College of Surgeons 

Edited by CHABLES H. ROBINSON, Biologist 

SEX=LIFE, LOVE, MARRIAGE, MATERNITY 

LIFE CENTERS, MAN'S IDEAL WOMAN, WOMAN'S IDEAL MAN, CHOOSING A 
MATE, SCIENTIFIC MATING, CUPID'S CONQUEST, THE HONEYMOON, WHAT 
MARRIAGE INVOLVES, THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS, PURE SEX-LOVE, 
WOMANHOOD, PRE-NATAL INFLUENCE, THE GIFT OF MOTHER- 
HOOD, THE SUCCESSFUL MOTHER, THE POWER OF THE MIND, 

ETC., ETC., ETC. 

By MARY RIES MELENDY, M. D., Ph. D. 



NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. 
No, 241 American Street 

PHILADELPHIA, PA, 



\ 






COPYRIGHT 


1904 


BY 


W. 


R. 


VANSANT 


COPYRIGHT 


1914 


BY 


W. 


R. 


VANSANT 


ALL 


. RIGHTS RESERVED 



JAN 28 I9I4 

>CU3617S5 
*4s 



PUBLISHERS' NOTE 



r T^HE awakening of the Nation to the problems pertaining to Personal Purity, 
-*■ Sex-Hygiene and Eugenics, has created a demand for an authoritative 
series of instructions, presenting scientific facts written in suck language as to 
bring the subjects within the understanding of the great number of people that 
go to constitute our home life. 

Such is tJie purpose of this work. 

Government investigation has sounded the alarm calling attention to the 
neglect of the greatest of life's interest. Fathers, Mothers, Teachers, Educators, 
Preachers, Physicians and leading Scientists are appalled at the conditions of 
degeneracy resultant from this widespread ignorance. 

Human Life, the most sacred of all life, depends on the proper teaching of 
Personal Purity, Sex-Hygiene and the Science of Eugenics; therefore, as moral 
instruction is the dominant educational need of the present generation, so the 
solving of sex problems transcended all others in importance. 

Many generations have joined in the " Suicidal Policy of Silence" in matters 
pertaining to Sex and Reproduction. The result is widespread ignorance of 
matters of the utmost importance to the individual and the race — ignorance of 
which many good people feel proud, but might well be ashamed. 

The social conditions of today demand the raising of the standard of human 
life; to develop wiser and better trained parenthood; to bring in to closer rela- 
tions the home and the school that parent and teacher may co-operate. intellU 
gently in the education of the young ; to better fit young people for the duties 
of parenthood; to develop the childhood of the whole world into good citizens 
instead of law breakers and degenerates ; to foster all that concerns childhood in 
the home, school, church, state and legislation, and to interest men and women 
to co-operate in the work for social purity. 

Sacredness of the body should be taught early to children. It is through 
ignorance on this very important subject that too often the young are entrapped 
to their ruin. Parents frequently act too much as if child-like innocence could 
last for life, and as if knowledge were a crime. So grave 'are the errors of 
ignorance in the married relation that to encourage or even to allow young 
people to marry without receiving instruction, is foolish and to offer no advice or 
warning is criminal. 

f How are young folks to know if they are not taught in their childhood? We 
prepare our children for trades and professions by special training. Why, then, 
shoidd we neglect to give them competent knowledge of their genetic nature, 
Which has such a lasting influence on their physical, mental and moral natures? 
To leave them to learn from the "voice of nature" belongs to the ignorant past; 



PUBLISHERS' NOTE 

and since we cannot keep them from knowing, there is left us no choice in the 
matter. ~We are to decide whether the child shall receive right and pure instruc- 
tion from parents and teachers, or learn through impure instruction from chance 
associates. The sacredness of the body should be taught early, and as soon as 
the child begins to ask questions in regard to the origin of life the parent or 
teacher should answer them truthfully. Surround the subject with purity of 
thought, expressed in words of simplicity — and at the same time awaken in the 
child an admiration for the goodness and wisdom of the Creator, and there will 
be such a sacredness in the subject that instead of demoralizing there will remain 
an elevating and refining influence. 

If children are intelligently instructed as soon as curiosity is awakened there 
will be no chance for inflaming their imagination. The most earnest desire is 
to promote social purity, by imparting right knowledge, hallowedly, a firm belief 
in the wisdom and goodness of God, and to keep the thoughts directed to thS 
highest ideals of manhood and womanhood. 

Many have been taught that the sexual organs themselves are impure. This 
is not true. God made them, and they are the part of the body most sacred of 
all, for to them is given the honor and privilege, under right conditions, after 
marriage, of creating life. 

To properly inaugurate the true standards of social purity we must first 
recognize that, "The Truth and Facts about Sex Laws and Hygiene, are the\ 
foundations upon which this nation must build for the future." The teaching 
of practical and applied sex hygiene is now to have its place in our schools, the 
legislatures of many states have passed laws to prevent the births of degenerates 
and nearly all the other states have such legislation under serious consideration. 

Foolish prudery is passing, pai~ents are beginning to realize that the attitude 
of the world 9 s educational institutions toward sex hygiene must be revolutionized 
if we are to combat evil and disease. The greatest peril to youthful innocence is 
the secretive prudery of parents and the resultant ignorance of their children. 

To overcome and combat this lack of knowledge for home teaching the pub- 
lishers have combined in the present ivork, The Science of Human Life, a 
complete course of simple instruction for the use of parents under the following 
titles by authors specially fitted for the task assigned them. 



THE SCIENCE OF EUGENICS 

THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE HUMAN RACE AS 
APPLIED TO THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BRING- 
ING CHILDREN INTO THE WORLD- WEEDING 
OUT DEGENERACY -EFFICIENCY OF MAR- 
RIAGE-PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ATTRIBUTES 
REQUISITE -HEREDITY FROM PARENTS AND 
REMOTE ANCESTRY, SELECTION, ELIMINA- 
TION AND ENVIRONMENT - INFANCY TO 
MATURITY THE CRITICAL PERIOD. 




PART I. 
CHAPTER I. 

The Science of Eugenics 

E ARE at a critical period in the history of 
civilization. Signs of weakness, degeneracy, 
increase of vice and crime, inadequacy of 
power to perform physical and social duties 
abound on every hand. 
We can not return to the ancient, or Spartan method 
of weeding out incompetents by extinction, but the proper 
breeding of men may be regulated and directed with as 
much success and profit as that of plants and animals. 

The tendency of plants, animals, and man, as the highest 
in rank in the animal kingdom, if left to themselves is 
backward to an original uncultivated type. This is usually 
called "degeneracy" for want of a better name. It is the 
beginning, or "scrub" stock which it has taken so many 
pains to raise to perfection by arduous and careful cultiva- 
tion, in breeding and elimination. 

Who would suspect that the luscious tomato of our 
markets sprang from the deadly nightshade, and if left to 
i * 1 



2 The Science of Eugenics 

itself in climates where frost does not cut it off, will revert 
to its ancestral stock? It is a long way back from the 
magnificent Arabian courser almost human in its intelli- 
gence to his forbear, the wild, shaggy, fierce horse of the 
plains. Our flocks and herds are unrecognizable specimens 
of shaggy, scrawny brutes raised to perfection by the in- 
breeder's art, skillful elimination. 

As has been said, we can not exterminate incompetents, 
but we can suppress their production. 

Nobody but a fool will mix tares with his good grain. 
On the contrary, every man makes perfect marriage be- 
tween the soil and the seed he sows, else, as he well knows, 

his harvest will be poor, small, per- 
iod Seed Planted hapg nil? and fit only for the furnace 

in Bad Soil with the chaff of fh& thresMng floor> 

Nor does the intelligent husbandman plant good seed in a 
poor soil; and if the soil be good and the seed poor the re- 
sult will be degeneracy of crop and an unmarketable har- 
vest. This is the crux of the whole human situation; the 
present conditions that tend to reversion to scrub, degener- 
ate stock, and the work of centuries to be done over again. 

Out of this situation has arisen the science of "eugenics' ' 
or more properly, ' ' eugeny. ' ' 

Practically, "eugenics" means a good race, or nobility 
of birth, and it is now applied especially, to the develop- 
ment and improvement of the human race. 

We can not fully comprehend the summary or collective 
law of nature impressed by God upon the original particles 
of all things, so as to make them attack each other and 
come together, and by their repetition and multiplication 
produce all the variety in the universe, but the faint no- 
tions we have lead us to adopt regulation of this collective 
law as a necessary protection to men in their social rela- 
tions. 



The Science of Eugenics 3 

There are three modes of viewing the science of eugenics 
as to practical results, either of which will result in benefit, 
and one or the other of which must be adopted before there 
can be any improvement along human lines. 

The first mode, that of ' ' Elimination, ' ' is a violent 
method, adaptable only to social conditions where the law 
of necessity prevails. Sparta practiced elimination by put- 

ting to death the incompetent, the im- 
perfect, the cripple, the weak, and all 
who could not by any possibility be of service or benefit to 
the state. The worthless or injurious had to be got rid of, 
cast out, expelled, or ejected from society. The only rem- 
nant of forcible elimination in these modern times is the 
rope or the electric chair for murderers. In new communi- 
ties without the regulatory force and influence of fixed 
laws, lesser crimes or acts called for the death penalty, as 
witness the work of "vigilance committees' ' in the mining 
regions, and lynching for rape and other racial crimes in 
various localities. The latter is still in vogue in some com- 
munities. 

The second mode, that of " Segregation, ' ' is more com- 
mon than any other. Criminals of every kind are segre- 
gated when put in prison where they can not practice their 

vices to the detriment of the public. 
segregation j^ - g ac [ v i se( j \ n ^he case f the feeble 

minded and insane. So long as the feeble minded person is 
left at large, he will find another feeble minded person who 
will live with him and have children by him. As well con- 
trol the mating of rabbits or mice by legislation. The only 
way is to segregate them. The same mode would apply 
to the admixture of the different races. 

The third mode, that of "Selection," seems to be the 
only feasible method of improvement. But this idea of 
selection is very much misunderstood. Generally, selection 



4 The Science of Eugenics 

is the separation of those organisms which are to survive 
from those which are to perish. But 
selection before there can be any selection the 

fittest must already be in existence. This can not be said 
at the present stage of our social condition. Selection does 
nothing but assure the preponderance to the fittest. This 
should be understood of natural selection. But our present 
term "selection" is limited to sex. By sexual selection, 
which is the eugenic proposition, is meant the combination 
of those beautiful things especially attractive to the oppo- 
site sex, which tend to become perpetuated or enhanced, 
thereby producing an uplift, a mental or moral raising up 
or upheaval. 

Upon this proposition there are no dissenting voices. 
The beautiful and good, the pleasant and moral do not 
exist in the degenerate, wherefore, by cultivating them, or 
enforcing them these things will be perpetuated and de- 
generacy eliminated. 

The question between two young people now is not, 
"Let us marry,' ' but, "Have we the right to get married V 
If two people are already married, they ask themselves 
"What sort of children shall we 
The Right to have?" It is as clear as day that the 

e arne majority of people who marry do not 

know each other except slightly, and know nothing about 
their parents or grand parents, indeed, they never consider 
them at all. The new science says : ' ' Know yourselves and 
your family conditions. ' ' There come in traits and tenden- 
cies that descend from the grand parents, or skip a genera- 
tion and appear later on. One is heredity, the other 
atavism. 

A man and wife with jet black hair have children with 
jet black hair also, but, astonishing to relate, one of the 
grand children has brilliant red hair. A case for suspicion, 



The Science of Eugenics 5 

yon may say, but a little investigation shows that one of 
the great-grand-parents had red hair, so suspicion is al- 
layed. This is a common experience as to other traits. 

Again: "I do not understand why my daughter should 
have contracted tuberculosis. She is very strong and ro- 
bust, and capable of resisting infection." Investigation 
disclosed that a remote forbear died of tuberculosis. Now 
tuberculosis is not an inheritable disease, but the "ten- 
dency" is transmissible, and this is what the daughter 
three or four times removed acquired from atavism. Not 
only these visible defects and variety of traits, but mental 
qualities are transmitted, sometimes skipping a generation 
or more, and the victim may have the traits and tendencies 
unconsciously, and when the conditions are favorable, the 
tendency develops, and the trait becomes prominent. 

There are bright, healthy, robust children in families 
where the parents are sickly, unintelligent or even de- 
praved, and on the contrary, there are weak, sickly, stupid, 

and depraved children with parents of 
The Basic the most moral character and robust 

health. This with all the conditions 
conducive to health and proper mental training. It is the 
working of the law of heredity and can not be escaped by 
any known method of treatment or training. It is a basic 
law of nature, that somewhere traits and tendencies will 
crop out in the race of descendants. Sometimes one par- 
ticular child will exhibit traits different from the rest of 
the same family, and it is a common remark to say: "I 
do not know who this bad child takes after. ' ' The sorrow- 
ful mother or father might know if they would have looked 
back to their forbears, and would not have had cause for 
sorrow had they taken precautions to prevent development. 

It is impossible to take two children of the same family 
trained in the same way, under exactly the aame circum- 



6 The Science of Eugenics 

stances, and in the same environments, and have them turn 
ont alike. One of them will be dull and spiritless, the other 
bright and intelligent. Everybody must have noticed this 
it is so common. The children of the deaf and dumb or 
blind are not necessarily deaf, dumb or blind any more than 
the children of normal parents. These defects are freaks of 
nature. 

Heredity and atavism, however, are not scapegoats upon 
which every defect in humanity may be heaped with rea- 
son. We must look to child training to ascertain conse- 
quences which are as much to be and as easily avoided as 
causes. Admitting it to be a scientific fact beyond dispute 
that traits and tendencies are inherited, it is reasonable to 
suppose that with the proper care, food, environment, etc., 
those traits and tendencies may be modified, and the pos- 
sessor be rendered immune to their influences. 

Every child is born into the world with all his organs 
physically arranged for the battle of life. He is free from 
tuberculosis, and all other fermentative and vegetable in- 
fections, none of which can he possibly inherit directly. 
But at his very first breath he takes into his system the 
germs of numerous diseases that make their active appear- 
ance in after life when his physical powers of resistance 
become weakened or impaired. He drinks in tuberculosis 
with his mother's milk; from the milk in the bottle how- 
ever carefully prepared or sterilized; from the atmosphere 
around him and from the infected breaths of those who 
caress him. To this extent the blame may be removed from 
heredity. 

But his powers of resistance certainly come from heredi- 
tary defects. Weakness is betrayed in his vital organs, and 
unable to resist the tremendous multiplication of germ 

diseases, he must succumb. The germs 
Hereditary Defects of digeage may lurk inert in hig gygtem 

for years and in adolescence, or middle age that may make 



The Science of Eugenics 7 

their virulent appearance with fatal results. There are 
very few persons entirely free from germs of some kind, 
but the physical powers of resistance being strong, the 
germ remains in its cyst awaiting a favorable condition to 
attack. A slight cold, bad food, impure air, favorable en- 
vironments, over exertion, worry, anxiety, or other mental 
or physical causes, and the resistance falls below the at- 
tacking power of the germs and they come forth and sow 
the seeds of death throughout the system. 

Eugenics, therefore, must be considered from two points 
of view to produce improvement that will be of any value 
or consequence to humanity: 

1. The proper selection of parents, which involves a 
scrutiny into the mental, moral, and physical conditions of 
the parents and their forbears, back as far as possible, even 

to the third or fourth generation back- 
The Proper Selection war( j # We may as we n a( j op t as a 

guide the scriptural threat to visit the 
iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third 
and fourth generation, and back at least, to the third gen- 
eration, for so atavism may be brought into the lime light. 
We can not have half way measures in this business for 
that would be to return to the old rut. 

It is estimated that more than two hundred thousand 
individuals in the United States rank as imbeciles, most of 
them congenital, that is, born imbecile, a hereditary taint. 
Parents may be mentally sound and 
The Iniquities of normal physically, but may carry in- 
herited defects and weaknesses. A 
child may be born perfectly normal mentally and physi- 
cally, and afterward develop imbecility. It may be due to 
some disease germ preying upon his nervous force, or it 
may be the cause of accident, or an aftermath of disease, 
but it all comes to the same cause, the inherited weakness 



8 The Science of Eugenics 

that is easily overcome; a lack of resistance that causes a 
surrender at the slightest attack. We must also consider 
that with mental and physical defects travel moral per- 
versity. The normal body and person is moral, but at the 
touch of some disturbing agency, the normal balance is 
overthrown and immorality results as sure as light from 
the sun. 

The hereditary instability of the nervous mechanism 
comes from inherited weakness, and it manifests itself vari- 
ously in different members of the same family. One mem- 
ber may be good and normal, another 
Criminal Tendency feeble minded, another may develop 
Insanity, Drunken- cr i mma i tendencies, another epilepsy, 
insanity, drunkenness, debauchery, 
etc. There is no habit of the mind or body that does not 
originate in some weakness or inability to resist. We may 
tone up the body, practice the rest cure, vitalize lost energy, 
and so on, even effecting what would be considered a cure. 
But the weakness is still there, the tendency exists, and 
the barriers of artificial resistance will be again broken 
down at the first appearance of the enemy and a vigorous 
attack. 

Upon the question of marriage limited to normal per- 
sons hinges the improvement of the human race socially. 
It is a delicate subject to consider, one that has been said 
to interfere with the great design of 
Marriage Limited to q od who commanded the human race 
Normal Persons 1 ,,. -. . . , 

to increase and multiply, indeed, 

prominent reformers in politics, legislators and place hunt- 
ers advocate the constant multiplication of the species, in 
some cases offering prizes to the greatest producer, not of 
quality, but of numbers. Again, there are those who argue 
against any restriction as an attack upon free will, constitu- 
tional rights, etc. 



The Science of Eugenics 9 

All these things may be true, and it may be true that 
every man has a right to live which can not be doubted, but 
no man has a right to live at my expense, or subject me to 
discomforts or misery that he may be happy and contented. 
I have a right to my own property, that other men do not 
think so is proof of a disagreement of opinion, hence ap- 
pears the thief. So I lock up my property to keep it from 
being stolen. Does anybody complain because I do so? 

It may be true that marriage is a divine institution, the 
builder up of the State, the manufacturer of angelic hosts, 
etc., etc., but let such rights be observed without interfer- 
ing with the rights of others. The 
Marriage as a Divine ancient Romans wanted to increase 

and multiply, hence the rape of the 
Sabine women. Various localities in the United States de- 
ficient in female inhabitants and with a surplus of males, 
offer inducements to a female immigration to fill the de- 
pleted ranks of their population. But the law of reason 
and justice comes in as an adjunct and a regulatory force 
that puts a check rein upon indiscriminate unions for the 
mere sake of reproducing for commercial purposes. The 
world can not go on deteriorating, and degenerating with- 
out ruining the designs of God that man shall aim for the 
highest things in life. Nowhere can it be found that the 

Almighty while insisting upon repro- 

Relations Between duction, insists that it shall be carried 
the Sexes Regulated .,, , , 

* on without reason and common sense. 

On the contrary, free love is prohibited, and the relations 
between the sexes regulated. To reach perfection was the 
constant insistence of Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, 
addressing the multitude he said: "Be ye therefore per- 
fect, even as your Father which in heaven is perfect." 
There is no justification here for perpetuating imperfec- 
tion, but the contrary. 



10 The Science of Eugenics 

It will be wise to dispel the theological idea and come to 
the human one of men living in social relations, striving to 
better conditions and improve the race to make them bet- 
ter able to comprehend the theological idea. We strain at 
gnats and swallow camels without a grimace. 

While few men and women can claim immunity to some 
hereditary traits and tendencies, weaknesses, or unstand- 
ardized strains, it is quite possible to discriminate, or select 
out of the great mass of lovers, and people who would 
marry, the best stock available. If marriage is a holy in- 
stitution, then the more perfect it is the holier it must be. 
The product of holiness is not necessarily holy; it depends 
upon the standard of holiness. 

Two people of normal mental and physical attributes 
without ancestral taint of any consequence, may freely wed 
and follow the rule to increase and multiply without re- 
striction except their own common sense and ability to care 
for their progeny. 

The departure takes place when one without taint mar- 
ries another with taint from an ancestor. Here is where 
marriage may be truly said to be a lottery with overwhelm- 
ing chances of drawing a blank. In 
Marriage as a such case, the offspring will be tainted 

and his offspring twice tainted, and 
the strain in after years degenerate to scrub stock. 

When the two newly weds possess an ancestral taint, or 

hereditary tendency, their offspring will surely have the 

taint and the tendency in a double degree. The marriage 

of two consumptives, even if in the 

Marriage of i as {; stages of tuberculosis, would not 

Two Consumptives , ,. «. . , , 

* produce a consumptive offspring but 

would raise his tendency to become infected to the highest 
point. Such a case would be criminal in one sense, for the 
reason that the infection would not stop with the offspring, 



The Science of Eugenics 11 

but would be spread among numerous others. It would be 
similar to a man arranging to kill a lot of people before 
committing suicide himself. 

A normal condition is always matched against an ab- 
normal tendency. This is in pursuance of a law of nature 
which always tends toward perfection, or to effect a cure 
where there is a disturbance of the 
Marriage to One mental or physical balance. On this 
Minded point it may be said, that when a nor- 

mal person weds one who is feeble 
minded, the children are likely to be normal, but with a 
latent tendency to feeble-mindedness, or abnormality. 
When the offspring of these children wed others with this 
latent tendency to feeble-mindedness, out of each group of 
four, one will be purely normal, that is without the tend- 
ency, two will be apparently normal but possess the latent 
tendency to transmit the same tendency, while one of the 
four will be feeble-minded. Owing to the constant struggle 
of nature to maintain a normal balance, the latent tendency 
may never reappear if the persons possessing it mate with 
normal persons, or persons who have no latent tendency. 
It is the same with good health which always preponderates 
over ill health in transmission, and a trait that has been 
bred into a family through the wrong mating of an ancester 
may be bred out forever by proper mating. Out of this 
grows the necessity for the judicious selection of marriage 
partners. 

Let us make a resume: 

If two feeble minded persons marry, all their offspring 

will be feeble minded. If both parents possess any form of 

functional insanity, all of their children will become insane. 

-^ one parent is insane and the other 
111 Mated Marriages normal but of ingane gtock> half the 

children tend to become insane. 



12 The Science of Eugenics 

When both parents are normal but belong to insane 
stock, about one-fourth of their children will become in- 
sane. 

This result may be elaborated to cover every variety of 
ancestral trait or tendency. It applies to animals and to 
plants, and seems to be a mathematically exact natural law. 

Biology, bacteriology and medical science have made 
great progress in penetrating into the apparent mysteries 
of humanity. They have removed from heredity and ata- 
vism much of the blame for conditions 
Transmission of Dis- th^ S p r i n g from traits, tendencies 
p 8 and physical weaknesses. The one 
well known heritable disease is syphillis which is a venereal 
disease, and is caused by the transmission of an animal 
microbe or "spirillum." Parents afflicted with this and 
cognate venereal diseases transmit them directly to their 
offspring while in process of gestation. From it spring eye 
diseases, and kidney complaints, which are so common as 
to excite apprehension among those engaged in teaching, 
for it is contagious. 

The microscope detects the spirillum and it can not be 
concealed from the eye of the bacteriologist. Persons mar- 
rying with this disease affecting one or the other transmit 
it to the offspring, and by him it will be transmitted to 
future generations. It is not a tendency or an ancestral 
trait but a transmissory disease. 

It is not disputed that heredity influences the bodily re- 
semblances and physical characteristics of the child. But 
in stating that truism, the transmitted weakness of any 
physical organ from the parent to the child must be reck- 
oned with as a possible inheritance. 

Biologists explain that the human body is composed of 
an infinite number of cells called "protoplasms," and that 
all of them must be supplied with nourishment so as to 



The Science of Eugenics 13 

make them grow in unison in order to maintain a physical 
balance or a normal condition. 

In that sense heredity plays no influential part, because 
every child, as has been said, at the moment of birth, is 
provided with all the essentials to maintain the vital bal- 
ance. But, the bacteriologist finds that immediately after 
birth, the child, even with his first inspiration of the at- 
mosphere, takes into his system disease germs of various 

kinds. It is impossible for any person 
Disease Germs to live anvw here on earth or to breathe 

any atmosphere without taking in some disease germs, 
which exist everywhere and are the products of fermenta- 
tion or the disintegration of matter. They find their way 
into the system through the water he drinks and from all 
kinds of food which go through a process of fermentation, 
the germs spreading rapidly find lodgment in some weak 
portion of the body to complete their existence by causing 
disease. If the person is strong and healthy, his system 
will resist their multiplication, and they may not produce 
any ill effects. But should there be any weak portion, they 
can not be successfully resisted, and soon the disease, what- 
ever it may be, tuberculosis, kidney diseases, heart disease, 
stomach troubles, appendicitis, all nervous complaints, 
hardening of the arteries, and a multitude of others includ- 
ing typhoid, pneumonia, diphtheria, catarrh, etc. All these 
diseases are infections, the germs of which may be studied 
under the microscope and their removal accomplished if 
taken before the victim becomes too weak to be put into a 
resisting attitude or condition. 

Here is where heredity comes in, not as the cause, but 
as the producer of body cells similar to those of the parent 
in their energy and vital powers. 

The infections attacking the vital but weak portions of 
the system, attack the nerves also and bring on nervous dis- 



14 The Science of Eugenics 

orders that may destroy life. They touch upon the delicate 
nerves of the brain, interfere with the 
in ec ous lseases svm p a thetic nerves that act when we 
are asleep, such as the nerves that promote breathing, heart 
action, digestion, etc., etc. By constantly rasping on the 
nerves epilepsy, St. Vitus dance, deafness, blindness, pa- 
ralysis, insanity, and a host of other ailments that are said 
to be from hereditary tendencies because there is no other 
place to classify them. 

The pathologist now comes in and tells us that these 
diseases may be cured or mitigated by the removal of the 
infective germs, and there are so many cures effected in 
this way that he can not be disputed. 

The bearing of all this on eugenics is this: With the 
exception of syphillis, as already mentioned, heredity trans- 
mits nothing but a possibility, and this possibility may be 
relieved by strengthening the ancestral weakness through a 
proper stimulation of the protoplasmic cells, or the removal 
of the infective and disturbing germs. 

It will be perceived that selection has assumed a differ- 
ent phase through the discovery of the effects of infective 
germs, and hereditary influences are limited to possible 
tendencies. That these tendencies may be obviated by 
eliminating their cause — that is, by getting rid of the trou- 
blesome germs in the child, or in the man. 

A mere inquiry into ancestral conditions is not enough, 
although it weighs much in determining just what weak 
organ the infection may attack in the child. Besides that, 
if there is no infection no hereditary 
Inquiry into An- trait or tendency, so far as the physi- 
cestral Conditions ^ body ig concerned> can exhibit it _ 

self under any circumstances. 

To reach certainty in the mating of normal persons and 
thus securing normal offspring, there must also be a bac- 



The Science of Eugenics 15 

teriological examination of the blood for syphillis or tuber- 
culosis, or a careful miscroscopic scrutiny of the secretions 
to find the germ that will defeat the desire to secure normal 
progeny. This is as easily done as the procuring of a mar- 
riage license or a wedding ring. 

With the possibility of removing ancestral taints or 
physical weaknesses in a simple and easy manner, there is 
little left for eugenics to operate upon except the intellect- 
ual faculties of the child. 

It is as old as medicine that " There must be a healthy 
mind in a healthy body." It is axiomatic. If, therefore, 
the health of the body is maintained, the mind must be in a 
state of balance or equilibrium. The mind may be unbal- 
anced by a variety of accidents, or causes, such as a blow 
on the head, dyspepsia, a tumor, a disease, or anything else 
that disturbs the physical equilibrium. 

It is due mainly to physical conditions that the hered- 
itary tendencies become alert and manifest themselves. The 
germ of tuberculosis may remain in the human system 
without causing any trouble for an entire life, in fact, most 
persons have the tubercular germs lodged somewhere, but 
they are encysted and inert. Given an opportunity, how- 
ever, they break through their envelope and become viru- 
lently active, and kill with the certainty of corrosive subli- 
mate. 

In the same manner, what are known and considered 
as hereditary influences need not exhibit the smallest physi- 
cal trace. Education and environment, together with 

proper food and sufficient fresh air, 

Environmem d keep tllem in sub i ection - Wh F is ' lt 

that pious parents may produce rene- 
gade children? From a drunken pair there may issue an 
upright temperate scion. These variations of the rule cer- 
tainly inherited the tendencies of piety or drunkenness. 



^ 



16 The Science of Eugenics 

The answer is, they were not developed. Conditions were 
absent. The son of pious parents found bad companions 
and no saint can associate uncontaminated with sinners. It 
is the environment that emphasized the ancestral tendency 
away from its application. On the other hand, better en- 
vironments made the tendency to drink inert, a not needed 
trait, and the vigor and energy of the descendant resisted 
it successfully. 

The great bugbear of all hereditary tendencies and the 
insistence that they are inevitable, is the destruction of per- 
sonal responsibility. All our laws, human as well as divine, 
are based upon the personal responsi- 
Violationof the bility of the governed to obey at his 

Law of Morals hazard. If, therefore, the individual 

is impelled by some outside force to commit acts which are 
in violation of the law or of morals, how can he be held re- 
sponsible, and in the absence of responsibility there can be 
no just punishment inflicted? 

It is advocated with much reason and logic, that the 
child should have within reach such stimulating influences 
as may be provided to enable him to acquire vigor and the 
power of resistance. It requires strength of mind to resist 
some evils, and many are powerless before certain tempta- 
tions that lead to disastrous results. It will not do to say: 
Eemove the evil or its cause; or put the child or man be- 
yond reach of temptation, for that would be merely a post- 
ponement of the submission or yielding. We must make 
the child, the man, strong enough to see the evil, view the 
temptation and pass it by without a thought of yielding; 
render him immune to evil influences by proper mental 
training. 

What one child knows another child can easily find out. 
The sources of information are open and flaunt every one in 



The Science of Eugenics 17 

the face. The weak and flabby become easy victims while 

the strong remain unaffected. Now, 

The Doctrine because there are weak and flabby per- 

of Human Rights , , T , , . , -, « 

sons, must the strong be punished tor 

their delinquencies? The doctrine of human rights is in- 
volved in this question. Let the child, the man, face the 
world and all its doings with a bold, defiant, healthy front. 
He knows what the result of yielding will be; whither his 
submission to evil will tend ; he may even be aware that by 
aiding in producing other weak and flabby children he is 
adding to the evils of mankind, but when he knows that 
this is so, then he will either refuse to act, or acting 
through mere human passion, or degeneracy, propagate 
evil. In such case hold him to his acts as a criminal, quasi, 
if not actually, and others will think twice before breaking 
through the restrictive trammels incumbent upon all men 
living in community. 

Eestrictive legislation accomplishes little, it never has 
reformed persons addicted to evil habits. Why? Because 
such methods are protective not curative. Hanging has not 
stopped murder; jails do not prevent stealing; the law 
against adultery is a dead letter; lynching is unavailing to 
stop rape. Other methods of punishment may be sug- 
gested, but they are all based upon misconceived notions of 
what should bring about reform. The bud of evil must be 
nipped before it blossoms, only the fruits of physical and 
moral perfection must be allowed to ripen. 

We can not prevent future happenings along the line of 
multiplication of the species, but we can begin at the be- 
ginning before the mischief has been done, to avert malig- 
nant consequences. 

The most stringent divorce laws enhance the number of 
divorces rather than diminish them. The very enumeration 



18 The Science of Eugenics 

of causes give an idea of what may be done to untie the 
marriage knot. One reason is because 
The Untying of the f m i sma ting. Those who should not 
g marry for scientific reasons, will mar- 

ry in spite of restrictions that may thereafter sever the con- 
tract. It is in the facilities for marrying that the major 
part of the trouble lies and not in easy divorce laws. Does 
the State care enough about its future population to see 
that the preparations for adding thereto are as nearly per- 
fect as human ingenuity can make them? Two lovers laugh 
and say: "What is the difference, nobody cares whether 
we marry or not," and the deed is accomplished. The State 
ought to care, for it is upon its citizens that it acquires 
stability, even if considered a mere tax collecting scheme 
of government. 

Indifference is fatal to improvement on the part of hu- 
manity. It is not by regulation through force that there 
can be any uplift, but through the inculcation of education, 
and the removal of obstacles in the way of human happi- 
ness. At every point of the compass there is a jail, a re- 
formatory, a policeman, a truant officer, a tax collector, in- 
spectors, and an army of people who thrust back every im- 
pulse. We still eat food charged with deadly ptomaines; 
may buy deadly poisons at any druggist's; we do not know 
whether we are eating pure honey, sugar, or glucose. In 
such matters we are always at the mercy of others. But 
when it comes to what will prove to be a danger to the 
State, to society, or to human nature, man is left to himself, 
and without knowing why, is punished, even by those who 
recognize heredity as an overpowering impelling force that 
caused the law's violation. 

From birth to adolescence, or puberty, is the crucial 
period in every man's life. Upon the energy accumulated, 
stored up and provided for during that period, rests the 



The Science of Eugenics 19 

entire future of his life. Education along the lines here in- 
dicated should be enforced. 

It is not so much whether the parents have been properly 
mated, although that is important, as it is whether the child 
has been properly cared for and trained intelligently to 
meet his or her future duties as a social being and a citizen. 

The initial twelve or fourteen years of human life, are 
years of physical upbuilding and the establishing of the 
rudiments of his future physical and intellectual progress 
through education. Until that time the child is imperfect, 
and all the forces of nature are directed toward perfecting 
its work, making ready, so to speak, for the struggle of life. 

Until the end of the period the child is a dependent, 
irresponsible animal, so constituted by nature with the 
requisite machinery to enable him to reach the point of per- 
fection, where he will be able to multi- 
The Child as a ply the species. It is then, more than 

at any other period, that the science 
of eugenics calls for its most energetic efforts. For the 
stronger and the more vigorous the child when he reaches 
the time of puberty, the more normal will be the descend- 
ants whom he procreates. 

When in process of gestation, the embryo human being 
draws upon his mother's body for all the elements required 
to fashion the various organs of his body — the physical ele- 
ments, not the mental acquirements, those being a subse- 
quent accumulation — and as the mother is more or less able 
to supply the demand for the chemical elements which go 
to manufacture protoplasms for bones, muscles, nerves, etc., 
the more or less normal physically will be the child when it 
comes into the world. 

But the after training is really what makes or mars the 
man or the woman. 

Growing constantly, he must have the necessary food 



20 The Science of Eugenics 

to maintain and build up his vital energy, to supply the 
waste tissues that are always drawn upon by his activities. 
The air he breathes must be pure and free from corrupting 
influences or germs. He must be surrounded by pleasant 
influences and good companions. To leave him to his own 
devices would be to throw him into a state of physical and 
mental anarchy which is always the 
Mind and Soul result of unbridled, misdirected action. 

The animal predominates in the child 
but he will not remain an animal unless the conditions or 
environments in which he is maintained force him to re- 
main such. His future is intellectual, and his mind or soul 
must be the dominating factor of his existence whether he 
is to be a hod carrier or a statesman. There is no difference 
in the personnel of the human beings living in close rela- 
tions. It is the intellectual fitness that makes the man. 
A bricklayer may be a learned man, and an ignorant man 
may be flaunted as a statesman. The difference is not in 
degree but in quality, a small quantity weighing as much 
proportionately as the possessor is able to utilize it. To 
each one his needs and no more. 

It is during this period of adolescence that the child may 
be rendered immune to the attacks of diseases that will 
plague him in his manhood and cut short his career. In- 
fantile paralysis, scarlet fever, mumps, goiter, and kindred 
diseases may be avoided, whereas, if permitted to have 
their sway, they will produce lethal results in after years. 

His brain is a blank tablet upon which the writing must 
at first be carefully traced and not crowded. To cram the 
brain of a child is to kill him as surely as to overstrain his 
weak and growing muscles, or overload his small stomach 
unused to any food but the most nourishing. 

The growing and increasing protoplasms or cells that 
constitute his body and increase his stature, and his brain 



The Science of Eugenics 21 

capacity, are forced to work harder at this period for there 
is the great formation of the functions of manhood going 
on in nature's laboratory, the creation of the human germ 
which in its turn gives life and adds to the world 's popula- 
tion. This is the very essence of man's nature, and it is 
the perfection of nature's workmanship. Whatever the 
child does before reaching this period must be done with 
the purpose of strengthening nature, and aiding her in com- 
pleting her work. Whatever is done that puts an obstacle 
in the way of this work, or which weakens the vigor that 
leads to it, weakens the ability of after life to perform the 
highest duty known, that of the reproduction of the species. 
Assuming that food, air, and environments are what 
they should be, there are still vices and vicious habits to be 
guarded against, for they weaken the mind and necessarily 

also weaken the body. As has been 

^??t J?? . i intimated, here is the gulf from which 

Child Perish ., • * • , -. ^ 

the science or eugenics must draw the 

child, lest it perish. Civil laws and regulative ordinances 
can not reach ancestral or hereditary influences, but the in- 
dividual may be strengthened and taught that he is an im- 
portant center in the world's mechanism, and that he is 
part and parcel of the great onward and upward movement 
of humanity to a higher goal than that of merely enjoying 
the pleasures of mortal life. 

Is the child worth all this trouble? If not, then why 
bring him into the world? To permit him to run wild is to 
impose a burden upon others, and bring his parents to 
shame. The responsibility of bringing children into the 
world means a religious, a moral, a public duty to see that 
they are fitted for the struggle, and able to advance along 
the road of progress and higher attainments. 



THE LAWS OF NATURE 

THE PROPER AGE TO MARRY -THE PARENTAL 
INSTINCT- WEAKENING OF PHYSICAL POWER 
AND ITS INFLUENCE ON OFFSPRING -EFFECT 
OF MANUAL AND MENTAL LABOR ON THE 
INSTINCT OF REPRODUCTION OF THE 
SPECIES -FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Laws of Nature 




F EQUAL importance with the selection of the 
parents to guarantee normal children, is the age 
when it is proper to marry. 

In its higher sense, marriage is the union of 
the male and female with the intent to reproduce 
the species. It is the universal law of nature. 

To reproduce in plants, there must be maturity of the 
elements of reproduction, or the union is sterile. This is a 
fact well known to every gardener, farmer or floriculturist. 
Among domestic animals, a certain age must be reached 
before they are permitted to reproduce. If allowed before 
a certain age or after another certain age, the result is 
stunted stock. Every stock breeder is 
Attainment of Ma- aware f this fact. Mankind is sub- 
ject to this universal law, and the fail- 
ure to observe it may be given as the reason why there are 
so many varieties of children that vary from a well recog- 
nized physical or mental standard. 

Maturity must therefore be considered as the proper 
period to begin the process of reproduction in all beings, 
plants, animals or man. But at what period in human life 

22 



The Laws of Nature 23 

is maturity attained! We have in view only the instinct 
of reproduction, and have nothing to do with the advice of 
St. Paul in I Corinthians VII 9. The application is for 
those who follow Psalm CXXVIII, 3. 

Married life is like a sphere made up of two equal and 
completely united parts, following the decree in Genesis II 
23, 24. Where there is a departure from this equality the 
result is apparent in the product, which is necessarily un- 
equal or abnormal, that is, not up to the standard. This 
is also a universal law of nature and there is no possible 
way of escaping it by subsequent training or education. 
Like begets like, and the unlike begets unlike or diversity. 

Generally speaking, a human being is mature at the 

period of puberty, that is, it is possible to reproduce. But, 

in nature's laboratory, the formation of the seed must be 

followed by the creation or formation 

0iNatore ratOry of P h ^ sical conditions that insure its 

perfect germination. From birth to 
puberty, all nature is working to bring about the result of 
creating the germ that reproduces. The vital organs of the 
body are drawn upon with that object in view. And when 
that object is attained, nature recuperates, so to speak, in 
order that the germ may be surrounded with sufficient 
vitality to accomplish successfully the object sought in 
creating or forming it. 

To marry at the age of possible multiplication would be 
to invite weakness in the progeny, because neither parent 
possesses sufficient vitality, particularly in the case of the 
mother, because as has been already explained, the embryo 
resulting from the germ draws upon her physical organs 
for its own growth and perfection. The supply of neces- 
sary elements is soon exhausted, and the infant comes into 
the world weak, frail, aenemic, and imperfect, susceptible 
to all manner of diseases common to children. 



24 The Laws of Nature 

It is a common belief, based upon thousands of observa- 
tions that seem to prove its truth, that the human system 
renews itself every seven years, depending, of course, upon 
the physical condition of the indi- 

ReMws S Itse?f m viduaL Assumin S this to be true > tne 

earliest age at which marriage should 

be contracted to be on the safe side, would be nineteen in 

the case of the woman, and twenty-one years of age in the 

case of the man. This calculation is based upon the general 

physiological fact that maturity in a woman begins at the 

age of twelve years, and in a man at the age of fourteen 

years. The age varies in individuals, but every person 

knows when the period arrives, and the count of seven 

years may be made from that period. 

As to the latest period when marriage should be con- 
tracted, mankind personally has no fixed rule, but mar- 
riages are contracted at all ages and between May and 
December at the will of the parties. But from the stand- 
point of eugenics, where the creation of a family is the 
object, physiology has established a limit beyond which it 
is not safe to travel. 

After marriage for the purpose specified, the paternal 

instinct practically ceases in man at about the age of thirty 

or thirty-five years, and in a woman at the period of her 

life when nature stops the possibility 

Cessation of f f urt her reproduction. This latter 

Paternal Instinct . , , r , „ , « .• 

period may be at forty, or forty-five, 

depending upon her occupation and mental labor, anxieties, 
worries, etc. 

Where persons are unmarried at the ages specified, there 
are numerous obstacles in the way of bringing perfect off- 
spring into the world, most of them physical and mental 
or either. We are not considering exceptions, we are estab- 



The Laws of Nature 25 

lishing a rule. There are numerous cases of married peo- 
ple at extreme ages successfully having children, and there 
are also numerous cases of men of seventy-five years of age 
marrying middle aged women and raising several children. 
We do not have to follow the fate of their children, be- 
cause we may reasonably suspect that they are far from 
normal. 

The reason why seven years after puberty is specified as 
the safe minimum age to marry, and the age of thirty years 
a maximum age to engage in matrimony, is because the 

physical and mental vigor of both 

The Best Age at parties are at their height, and the 
Which to Marry F . . s ' 

parental instinct is strong. They look 

forward to children as a blessing and a comfort. At the 
age of thirty years for the man, and twenty-five years for 
the woman, the parental instinct exists but is mixed with 
the desire for companionship and the establishment of a 
home. But the physical vigor is not so strong as in the 
case of the younger couple. Besides, there is a stronger 
mentality or power of resistance. There is more preoccupa- 
tion of mind which is adverse to perfection of response to 
the instinct. 

Disparity of ages, or advanced age has but faint traces 
of the parental instinct which is absorbed in the desire for 
companionship, and whatever may be the result of such 
union, it is generally " accidental,' ' and not advantageous 
to the offspring. So far as disparity of age is concerned, 
the period of time between the maturity of the man and the 
woman may be considered the proper difference of ages, 
allowing a year or so more, or perhaps up to seven years 
less for the woman, because she matures more rapidly than 
the man, that is, she loses the active parental instinct and 
fails to respond, while the husband retains the active 
desire. Where this happens, there is dissatisfaction oh the 



26 The Laws of Nature 

part of the husband, because he has other instincts than 
those of the parental and they find nothing reciprocal in 
the wife. 

In hundreds of cases where a couple have married 
young, and grown up side by side until old age, in peace 
and concord, it has been observed that they grow to resem- 
blance are so similar as to be mistaken for brother and sis- 
ter, or of the same blood, so true it is that they " shall be as 
one flesh.' ' 

Where, however, there is disparity, the couple grow 
farther apart as the years pass by and the unity of the fam- 
ily is endangered. 

The marriage of a couple who are fully mature and 
physically obscessed with the parental instinct is bound to 
be a happy union. They are old enough to see the spiritual, 

the moral and the intellectual traits of 
Happy Unions the character in each other, and each, un- 
Kesultol Maturity consoi(raBly> adopts that trait wMch 

appeals most powerfully to them, and thus they grow to- 
gether, and form a united family blessed with equality of 
hopes and ambitions, besides, such a couple continue to pos- 
sess a physical attraction for each other, a satisfying 
attraction which can not be diverted easily. 

The commercial spirit has crept into the question of 
early marriage, and it is provocative of danger by defer- 
ring the establishment of a home. It has recently been 
much discussed in the public prints. 

The economical question is an important one to solve 
and consider. Yet, it may be going too far to advise against 
marriage until there is an income assured capable of sup- 
porting the family. Such an income is never assured be- 
cause as time goes on, and the parties grow older, their 
demands increase, whereas, when they grow up together, 
they know how to satisfy each other's wants by regulating 



The Laws of Nature 27 

the economy of the family. Of course, there is reason in in- 
curring the obligations of the married 

Financial Ability a s t a te. Every one knows best his or 
.Necessity 

J her own capacity to get along in the 

world, and what provision should be obtained. A man or 
woman without any visible means of employment, or source 
of income, or ability, ought not to marry, for that means 
poverty ever after. But when there is ability backed by 
energy, good health and perseverance, there is nothing in 
the way to prevent the marriage. It is the love of money 
that is the root of all evil, and to apply it to the marriage 
question is to promote race suicide. It leads to immorality, 
and may be considered as one of the chief causes of 
" Strays" in our big cities. 

The world contains as many, perhaps more, opportuni- 
ties now than ever in its history. And the man who dares, 
or the woman who will stand by the man who dares, will 
succeed sooner than the man or woman who waits for in- 
come to help them decide. 

There is another essential point to consider, and that is 
the mental and physical labor involved in the question of 
gaining a living. It does not hurt any able-bodied man or 

woman to work; it is where the work 

P ff f Cal Lab ° r is be y° nd their length that the dan- 

p ger is apparent. When young, labor 

is harmless and does not undermine the vigor of the physi- 
cal or mental system. Nature recuperates speedily because 
during the period of youth it is building up, and then is 
the time to marry. But if labor is continued long after the 
period when marrying would be safe, in order to secure 
an appropriate income, nature having ceased to grow, there 
is less recuperation and the waste of the body resulting 
from the exhaustion of labor, physical or mental, lessens 
the ability to produce normal children. 



28 The Laws of Nature 

Not only that, but as age advances set habits are formed 
in both sexes and these will always interfere with happi- 
ness and a united family. The couple in such cases, do not 
grow up together because they have already grown up each 
in his own way and along a different line of thought, wants, 
demands and purposes. Their children will be as abnormal 
as they. 

One point to be always borne in mind upon this subject 

is this: Whatever weakens the physical system, whether 

manual or intellectual labor, unsanitary environments, poor 

food, anxiety, grief, dissipation, mis- 

Layinguie Physical use or n0 nuse of the organs of the 

body, or other exhaustive condition, 
will correspondingly weaken the power to reproduce the 
species, and finally the fountain of life will run dry and 
the man be left with the paternal instinct and without the 
power to follow it. Life may go on and be prolonged, but 
there is no medicine, no method by which the system may 
be rebuilt because the very foundation has been destroyed, 
and it is too late to lay another. It must be laid in youth. 

It is as old as the world that the mother instinct in 
woman is stronger than the father instinct in man. In ac- 
cordance with it she suffers and endures, but "forgetteth 
her travail in the joy of her off spring.' ' Yet, it is becom- 
ing a serious question in the minds of humanitarians 
whether this instinct is not lost when women engage in 
business 1 

It is not deniable that economical independence pos- 
sesses the highest attractions to women as well as men, 
and to become independent before marrying is pronounced 
a great desideratum. We find women, therefore, in busi- 
ness ventures of every variety, many of them commanding 
high perquisites for their undoubted skill. There are also 
a multitude of young girls embarking in a business career, 



The Laws of Nature 29 

soon finding themselves able to resist the advances of the 
other sex seeking marriage. This means delay, and delay- 
may mean a diminution of the mother instinct, or its total 
destruction. 

We have nothing to advance upon this question, merely 
presenting the facts and applying the ideas already ex- 
pressed to the effect that whatever exhausts the physical 
or the mental, diminishes the power to follow the instinct 
to reproduce the species. 

Our social relations tend toward delay in marriage, in 
that the expense of caring for a wife and family impose too 
much of a burden upon the man who would marry if he 
could maintain a wife. The disinclination to motherhood 
appears to be growing through the domination of the finan- 
cial question, but the leaven still exists and this with the 
aid of eugenical conditions observed wherever possible 
without destroying freedom of choice, will do much toward 
combatting the tendency in the direction of indifference to 
motherhood. 

Apart from all other questions of policy, finance, or in- 
difference, women will continue to be elevated upon a 
pedestal from which they can not be overthrown as mothers 
of the human race, and they will always meet with the most 
profound respect for their devotion to the cause of human- 
ity by bearing the burden of motherhood. 



HOW TO HAVE PERFECT CHILDREN 

CHILD BEARING-FACTS FOR MOTHERS-HOW 
NATURE WORKS -THE MOTHER SOLE ARBI- 
TER OF HER CHILD'S FATE -HOW MOTHERS 
CAN HAVE PERFECT CHILDREN -SAVING 
CHILDREN FROM DISEASE. 




CHAPTER III. 

How to Have Perfect 
Children 



HE reproduction of the species is governed by the 
laws of nature which are practically the same in 
all plants and animals including man. They are 
fixed and invariable, and any attempt to alter 
them is attended with evil consequences, such as 
the production of monstrosities, or inefficient offspring. 

According to these laws, there can be no reproduction 
without a junction of the male with the female, that is, they 
must unite, or the multiplication of the species is an im- 
possibility. Among fruit trees, to cite 
Male and [Female a familiar instance, the tree bears 
male and female flowers. The male 
flower carries a dust called "pollen," which when brought 
within reach of the female flower, is absorbed by it, and the 
result is a fruit. Generally, the same tree carries both the 
male and the female flowers. But some trees carry only the 
male, while others carry only the female flowers. This is 
the case with the date palm. Care must be taken to plant 
trees carrying male flowers in the same grove with the trees 

30 



How to Have Perfect Children 31 

carrying the female flowers, otherwise, there will not be 
any fruit, the trees will be sterile. 

In the case of the fig tree, there are no visible flowers, 
that is, the tree brings out the infant fig directly without 
the appearance of any flowers. But the reproducing ele- 
ments are concealed in the fig itself, where the male and 
the female flowers grow together side by side. The same 
rule, however, is applicable, and the pollen from the male 
flower must reach the female flower, or there is no fruit. 
Nature provides that there shall be a small opening at the 
end of the Hg, into which insects creep and by crawling 
around inside the fig, distribute the pollen to the female 
flower and thus perfect the fruit. Men do this artificially, 
by inserting a small feather in the opening and twisting it 
around distribute the pollen as nature intends. In the il- 
lustration of general fruit trees, the male pollen is carried 
to the female flowers by the breeze, bees, insects, etc. 

If we examine a grain of wheat, corn, or other cereal, 
we will find a small portion different from its surroundings, 
and which may be separated from the rest. This is the 

germ produced by the pollen on the 
The Germ of Life ' ' beard ' ' of the wheat or the silk of 

the corn, distributed to the female 
organs. An ordinary hen 's egg is familiar to every one. In 
the yolk there is often a small black speck, in others there 
is no black speck, nothing but a uniform consistency. 
Where the small black speck is seen, the egg will repro- 
duce, that is "hatch," but where there is none, the egg is 
sterile. With a strong light the speck may be seen, and the 
poultry raiser is thereby able to select the eggs that will 
hatch, from those which will not. 

Now, the egg, which we will call "ovum," which is a 
Latin word that means u egg, ,f is the matrix, or mould in 
which the bird is to grow until ready to come forth from 



32 How to Have Perfect Children 

the shell a perfect bird — an infant." The black speck is 
the male germ which has found its way into the ovum, just 
the same as the pollen finds its way into the female flower. 
The germ grows and feeds upon the albumen and yolk of 
the egg which nature has provided as its proper nourish- 
ment while in the shell, or as it is called, "in embryo," the 
word "embryo" meaning a rudiment, a beginning, a germ, 
or a nucleus. 

When the germ of the grain or of the fruit has begun to 
grow, nature supplies it from the earth and the atmosphere, 
with the elements it requires to become grain or fruit, and 
it does this in exactly uniform quantities, and gives just 
what it needs and no more. If this were not so, or if the 
growing embryo, drew from the earth and air, the various 
elements of its make-up at random, the result would be 
an imperfect fruit or grain, or a monstrosity. 

To carry this idea one step farther before comparing the 
reproduction of the human species, consider the mixture of 
species which sometimes happens. 

Where the flower pollen of one species of plant mixes 
with the female flower of another species, the result is a 
hybrid, or a degenerate. Take a watermelon as an illustra- 
tion: If watermelons grow near a squash field, there will 
be no watermelons, nothing but hybrid squashes, which can 
not be called anything. In the case of potatoes, tomatoes, 
or tobacco, plants of the same family, a mixture of the pol- 
lens produces degeneracy of fruit or vegetables. This hap- 
pens when the plant belongs to the same species, or family, 
and, strange to say, it applies to human beings as well as 
to vegetables and fruits. 

Scientific gardeners have taken advantage of this pe- 
culiarity to produce new varieties of fruits and vegetables, 
and many have succeeded, but the road is a long one, and it 
is wiser to keep the different species of the same family of 



How to Have Perfect Children 38 

plants and fruits a long distance apart to prevent the mix- 
ture of pollens, or the production of " mongrels.' ' 

We now come to man, the capsheaf of animal creations, 
and find that the same laws of nature govern his reproduc- 
tion as in the case of plants, birds, and other animals. 

In the human species, the female is the mother of the 
race. Within her body exists the matrix or mould in which 
is to be formed another human being. It is she who carries 

the ovum, or eggs, in which must be 
The Mother of placed the germ or sperm, or human 

pollen from the male, otherwise she 
will be sterile as in the case of unfertilized plants and other 
animals. 

When this has been accomplished, she alone is the arbi- 
ter of the fate of the embryo, the duties of the father, physi- 
cally, extending no farther than supplying the germ of 
fecundation in the beginning. 

The mother ovum being thus fertilized, begins to grow, 

and becomes an integral part of the mother's body the same 

as her arm, leg, or other member. The embryo draws what 

it needs from the mother's body through the same blood 

that courses through her veins, and gets it nowhere else. 

There is no possibility of the embryo in its mother's womb 

getting anything except from the blood of its mother, for 

there is no connection except by way of the blood vessels. 

The mother may have all kinds of skin diseases; may have 

tumors, boils, tuberculosis, dyspepsia, etc., but they do not 

. affect the embryo. That is, they do 
A Clear Explanation not ^^ ^ embryo directly . An 

explanation will make this clear: Whatever the embryo 
needs to form its various organs, its bones, brain, nerves, 
heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, etc., etc., it draws the material 
to develop them from the mother. It needs lime for its 
bones, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus and the salts 
3 * 



34 How to Have Perfect Children 

of all the metals and minerals to promote the growth of its 
body. 

When the embryo does not get a sufficient quantity of 
material from its mother to perfectly develop its various 
organs and parts, the organs or parts deprived of a suffi- 
cient quantity of nourishment, are weak in proportion to 
the diminished supply furnished by the mother's body. 
And the child will come into the world with organs that 
are weak. And the weak organs will be liable to attacks 
from disease. This deficiency in the embryo, and its sub- 
sequent liability to disease from weak organs, is called a 
" tendency," which is sometimes mistaken for heredity, or 
diseases which come down to the children from the parents. 
Scientists have discovered after thousands of experiments, 
that none of the infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, 
diphtheria, typhoid, pneumonia, etc., can descend to the 
child from the parent. Indeed, if anything does descend, 
it can not possibly come from the father, because his power 
to affect his progeny is limited to supplying the germ, or 
male pollen. Everything must come from the mother to 
the child in embryo, there is no other place for it to be af- 
fected. 

With this partially understood, it is material to know 
how the embryo grows in the body of its mother. Nothing 
is accidental, or at random, the law of nature operates and 
can not be interfered with without danger. 

The embryo begins to grow from the moment of concep- 
tion, and it grows very much in the same manner as a 
receptacle in which wheat or other grain is poured. The 
more grains of wheat the larger the quantity. The human 
body is entirely made up of grains called " cells," and each 
cell, although an independent formation, must dwell by as- 
sociation with other grains or cells, in order to live. To 
obtain a clear understanding of this physical situation, 



How to Have Perfect Children 



35 



take a jar of wheat. The grains of wheat represent the 
cells of the human body, only the latter are infinitely small 
and can only be seen through a powerful microscope. They 
are so small that a hundred millions of them scarcely come 
up to a pinhead of space occupied by them. 

Without moisture, the wheat grains in the jar are inert, 
that is they do not grow. Each of them possesses a germ, 
which may be called the "life germ," but the conditions 
are not favorable to their growth, they remain stationary. 
Now add moisture, and the wheat grains swell, and the 
germ becomes alive, throwing out a small shoot and begin- 
ning the act of reproduction as nature intended. 

In the same manner, the cells that make up the body of 
the embryo, must have moisture, which in this case means 
nourishment, or it is plain they will not develop. 

Another thing to be carefully considered, for it means 
life or death to the future man who has developed from the 
embryo: The germ that is first planted in the mother's 
matrix, is a cell, and its process of 
growth and development consists in 
attracting other cells formed by the 
million out of the material from the various parts of the 
mother's body. These new cells do not scatter in every 
direction and take up an independent existence like grains 
of sand, but remain closely clinging to one another and 
form larger and larger clusters. In a short time, the 
shapeless mass, or clusters of cells, take on different shapes. 
Some form bones, others shape into a heart, lungs, kidneys, 
liver, and so on. By and by a skin forms from them, and 
the mother's blood is all the time circulating through the 
embryo bringing the materials from her organs and build- 
ing up the organs of the embryo. It is plain, that if the 
organs of the mother's body or any of them are weak and 
unable to supply the requisite cell-building material, the 



How Human 
Life Begins 



36 How to Hare Perfect Children 

embryo organs are either smaller or weaker than they 
should be. Besides, nature always reproduces according to 
a pattern or type. 

Another thing that must be borne in mind is, that the 
embryo in its natural work of reaching perfection, may 
draw all the material the mother needs to keep up her vital- 
ity, and hence, the mother will become weak and unable to 
maintain the embryo. 

By carefully considering these elementary points, every 
mother will understand how necessary it is to keep up her 
own vitality by proper food. 

Every mother carrying an offspring, must live for two; 
herself and another human being. If she disregard the 
plain duty to provide for the embryo, the result will be a 

sickly child, one liable to the attacks 
The Mother's of all manner of diseases. The whole 

Watchfulness future of her offspring depends upon 

her care and watchfulness at this peri- 
od, for after the child is brought into the world, she will 
have either a healthy body to build upon successfully, or 
a weak one which can not respond to proper training, or 
will pass away in infancy or early manhood. 

It has been customary to say in such cases : ' ' The Lord 
giveth and the Lord taketh away, ' ' but science has discov- 
ered that the loss is due to universal laws established by 
God, which we are to follow or, by violating, take the con- 
sequences. It is our own fault and we should not blame 
the Lord. 

In considering the mysterious operation of the laws of 
nature in reproducing the human species, it must not be 
supposed that the human machine is constructed in an im- 
perfect manner. The contrary is the case. 

There is no mechanism, no machine that can be made by 
man that can or will possess the durability and working 



How to Have Perfect Children 37 

capacity of the human body. It is especially built to resist 
the efforts of its enemies to destroy it, and its powers of re- 
sistance can be maintained for life. For seventy, eighty, a 
hundred years and more, the human body maintains it- 
self in good working order, and it makes its own repairs. 
All its owner has to do is to see that it is supplied with the 
proper material and in the proper quantities. Trying to 
help nature is a dangerous experiment. 

Children die young because they have not been built up 
with the ability to resist the attacks of enemies from with- 
out. Every fruit has its enemies; the grain in our fields 

may be destroyed by insects, or by too 
Why Children much rain causing rust, or too much 

heat drying it up, or insufficient heat 
to permit it to expand and develop. The same is the case 
with the human body. Early death may easily be traced to 
some neglect, some violation of the laws of nature, some ex- 
posure to the elements, anxiety, worry, and a hundred other 
causes that lessen the resistance or, as some say: " destroy 
the vitality." 

The child is overfed or underfed, it is restricted physi- 
cally or mentally and becomes warped, loses ambition, be- 
comes weak and timid, and loses the vital force that enables 
him to become a man to be proud of. He need never have 
had any so-called " children's diseases.' ' They are not es- 
sential to any child, and they are always the results of neg- 
lect, exposure, and uncomfortable surroundings. It is for 
the mother to strive for good conditions, better environ- 
ments, and sanitary appliances. Our laws are becoming 
more and more efficient every day to help her obtain bene- 
fits that will enable her to rear her beloved offspring, so 
that he will be a pleasure and a joy to her as long as she 
lives. 



THE BRAIN OF AN INFANT 
DEVELOPING THE BRAIN-AN EARLY START 
MAKES the CHILD A WINNER- ALL HEALTHY 
CHILDREN HAVE AN EQUAL CHANCE- 
HOW TO INSPIRE THOUGHT AND REASON. 




CHAPTER IV. 

The Brain of an Infant 

ERY recent discoveries in the operation of the 
human brain, and in the cause of diseases which 
affect the human mind, have brought about a 
radical change in the methods of training the 
mind of children, and bestowing upon them what 
is familiarly known as an " education.' ' 

It is intimated in another chapter, that as a rule, all 
children when born stand upon the same plane as finished 
products of nature, standards, so to speak, and if some of 
them fall below the natural standard, it is because they 
have been charged with infections taken in through their 
lungs, or by way of the food put into their stomachs, or 
have bad surroundings. 

Thousands of experiments demonstrate that the differ- 
ence between children is caused mainly by the poisons cre- 
ated in their bodies by the germs of disease, which attack 
their physical comfort, and affect their brain to a greater 
or less extent. 

We have learned that the brain of the human being is a 
storehouse of cells, compartments, or spaces in which ob- 
jects, impressions, ideas, and thoughts are stored for future 
or present use. According to the estimate of such scientists 
as Ehrenberg, Virchow, Koch, Metchnikoff, Cajal, and the 

as 



The Brain of an Infant 39 

great American brain specialists, a new object, thought or 
impression every second of time for one hundred and fifty 
years would barely fill the brain to its full capacity. Even 
then, nature in its liberality, would increase the space for 
further education. We know this to be so, because we can 
see it in the brain of an infant which is constantly expand- 
ing and increasing as it acquires education. 

There are such gifts as inspired thoughts, but they must 
come, as a rule, from the matter put into the brain, and not 
from supernatural sources. Eecent experiments made along 

• j «™_ i_ this line among a large number of 
Inspired Thoughts children taken at random> have proven 

that all infants stand upon an equality as to brain power, 
where normal, that is where their physical condition is per- 
fect, without disease or ailment, and who can digest and as- 
similate their food without physical or mental disturbance, 
and have agreeable surroundings. 

It is the general rule, that there are no such things as 
"natural gifts," for if a child has any gifts in a certain 
direction, along a certain line or exhibits a preference for 
one thing more than another, it is because more and better 
material has been put into his brain, or that his brain has 
been fed with specific matter. His surroundings or en- 
vironments differ. The mind of a child can not appreciate 
beauty when his surroundings contain nothing beautiful. 
His language can not be correct where he hears coarse or 
vulgar talk. How can decency, morals, truth, or refinement 
be found in a child exposed to everything that is the con- 
trary of the ordinary virtues? 

The sons of great men have seldom been great, and if we 
look into the pages of history, we shall find that the off- 
spring of the great, the powerful, the learned, statesmen 
and scholars, were very mediocre individuals. And this is 
the case today as all may perceive by looking around among 



40 The Brain of an Infant 

their acquaintances. The reason is because the parents of 
such children have no time to devote to them and they are 
left to their own devices. 

The microscope disproves the well worn maxim " Blood 
will tell," and we know that family traits end with re- 
semblances according to the fixed law of nature that ' ' Like 
begets like." Mental and physical 

What the Micro- traits are acquired like diseases, after 
scope Disproves , . ,, , . -, , 

* * birth, and improved upon by environ- 

ment, education and training, aided by suggestions that 
will excite the interest and the reasoning faculties. 

It is said that "Poets are born not made," but if you 
wish your son to be a poet, it is easily done by surrounding 
him with beautiful objects, lulling him to rest by poetic lul- 
labies, and teaching him poetry as soon as he can lisp. 

This is the case with all other lines of refinement or skill. 

A mighty warrior is bred from tales of heroic deeds told 
in his presence or sung into his listening infant ears, not 
because his father or his grandfather, or some remote an- 
cestor was a great general. 

The gifts which shine in after life, the bent of the mind 
toward one thing in preference to any other thing, are the 
products of environment, education, advantages and oppor- 
tunities. 

It is the early impressions fixed upon a child's brain — 
those that are dominating or uppermost — that determine 
his future as a man, but they do not establish the line of 
any future career. They create a tendency, however, and 
are to be carefully regulated on that account. 

The moral life is the basis of all manhood, and while it 
fixes the character in after life, returning to the man when 
he has thrown his moral training to the winds, it does not 
lay the foundation for any world occupation. Here is wher© 
there has been a great change in child training. 



The Brain of an Infant 41 

It was formerly supposed that to train a child to be good 
and moral, and then start him out into the world, was 
enough to fit him for success. 

He was taught not to lie, not to steal, not to swear, and 
other virtues, then he was thrust upon the world to find his 
vocational career at random. 

Experience has taught that this is the cause of so many 
failures in life, the reason why so many fail to reach the 
goal of success. He has learned virtue and honesty at his 
mother's knee. He is fitted for the 
The Cause of kingdom which is not of this earth, 

Failures in Life and following that alone> or knowing 

naught else, he tries to combine the heavenly with the 
earthly, and fails. 

If every father and mother would see that mental de- 
velopment is not due to inheritance, but to environment and 
training, the way upward to every child would be easy 
climbing. 

It has been said that the mind or brain of a child is of 
plastic material, that it is like a blank sheet of paper, or a 
tablet of wax upon which is to be written matter for his 
future life. When young, it is easier to inscribe proper 
writing than when the pages of the brain are more or less 
obscured by variety. Habits of accurate observation may 
be formed upon the blank brain, and sound reasoning 
power acquired. 

A child is essentially a thinking animal, and it must ap- 
pear to be the part of wisdom to train it to think correctly 
from the start, and to good purpose, rather than put into 
its brain waste material, or material that will be useless to 
him in after life, for by so doing, he wastes his energies, 
and acquires habits of thinking incorrectly. 

It has been explained that the sympathetic nerves are in 
close touch with the will power nerves, and that on occasion 



42 The Brain of an Infant 

they clash and create confusion in the mind. This is ad- 
verse to correct thought, and may be avoided by ranging 
the matter for thought in proper order and for a proper 
purpose. This is preparing the way for habits of thought, 
which are acquired like any other habits. 

Habits are merely the reversion of the will power to- 
ward those impressions that have been placed in the brain, 
and by insistence, are recalled so frequently that the mind 
settles down and submits to them without farther struggle 
— gives up to them. The habit of right thinking is as easily 
formed as that of wrong thinking. It must be borne in 
mind that every human being is a compact bundle of nerves 
affected by a touch. 

The perversity of a child is not due to his nature, but to 
his thoughts that have been trained awry. He has seen or 
heard something that jangled with his right thinking, and 
through some bodily condition of dis- 
r ,< hM,!i rVerS1 ^ comfort, or other physical cause, there 

is a clash. There is no tendency to- 
ward evil any more than there is tendency toward disease. 
The tendency of a child to be attacked by the same disease 
that afflicts its mother is only a disposition toward that 
disease. Otherwise " tendency' ' would mean a drifting in 
a certain direction, and would imply that the disease al- 
ready exists, whereas, it is a mere possibility, not an ex- 
isting fact. 

So it is with thought training, or habits of thought. A 
child may think wrong but it is not necessary that he 
should: it is a possibility, away from which he may be 
directed or trained, as easily as keeping a plow in a fur- 
row. 

It has been said that all normal children stand upon the 
same intellectual plane, and are all capable of equal mental 
development whatever their station in life. It is always 



The Brain of an Infant 43 

parental mistakes, varied environments and nnbeautiful 
surroundings that cause a departure from this equality. It 
is for parents to see to it that normal health is maintained 
in the infant, and that his physical balance is kept perfect 
until he can act for himself. Then he may go astray, but 
he is not so likely to do so as if he were allowed to raise him- 
self as some parents permit their children to do. He has 
sense or reason and knows how to think. 

It is certain that the slighest depression of the physical 
balance, or what is termed the "normal" condition, affects 
the growing mental powers. On the other hand, there are 
cases where a sudden elevation of the normal condition, 
excites the mental powers and produces the most astonish- 
ing instances of precocity, which, like froth, quickly dis- 
appears. 

It is possible for one child to be much "smarter" than 
any other child in the neighborhood, for he may be better 
fed, better cared for, and better trained. But if it should 
exhibit astonishing advance in smartness, become a 
"prodigy," as it is termed, his physical condition should 
be looked into, just the same as if the child becomes list- 
less, stupid, dull, inattentive, and without ambition. There 
is a disturbance of the physical balance. 

The poison of disease germs not only produce dullness 
and stupidity in children, but also cause a species of mental 
intoxication the same as that caused from imbibing intoxi- 
cating liquors or drugs. Indeed, the 
The Poison of effects are identical, because the 

nerves are affected, and these affect 
the brain. These periods of brightness in a child are al- 
ways followed by periods of listlessness and lassitude, 
weariness and dullness the same as when a man becomes 
voluntarily intoxicated. 

Robert Stevenson, the novelist, was & confirmed con- 



44 The Brain of an Infant 

sumptive, and wrote his most brilliant passages when suf- 
fering most from the inroads and ravages of the tubercu- 
losis. Byron 's most brilliant and beautiful poetry was 
evolved from a brain affected by a stomach in the agonies 
of dyspepsia, or, as is better known now, a disease germ 
that causes appendicitis. Caesar and Napoleon were epi- 
leptics, both nervous diseases. Super-excitation of the 
nerves from any cause will affect the brain and cause it to 
flash out brightness like flashes from a flint struck by steel. 
De Quincey was a confirmed opium eater; Poe, an inebriate; 
Gladstone always had a glass of brandy before him when 
about to make a great speech, and it is said that the great 
Daniel Webster, our own renowned orator and statesman, 
used stimulants before making his most brilliant efforts. 

In the case of children we can not look for drugs or in- 
toxicants, but infective germs are deadening to the mental 
powers in the same way. Many a child is dull, spiritless, 
backward and listless, learns with difficulty, and exhibits 
traces of stupidity, whose trouble is caused by disease 
germs which an examination would discover and speedily 
remove. 

It is a scientific fact, amply demonstrated in many cases, 
that out of a hundred normal children, given equal facili- 
ties, training, environment and conditions, one hundred of 
xt i-u-u them will progress equally along in- 

Normal Children tellectual development. But these 

hundred children selected at random, do not receive the 
same treatment, the same training, the same co-operation 
on the part of their parents, and hence, more than 75 per 
cent of them show less progress, less development than the 
rest. The blame is not upon the child, but upon other 
causes over which he has no control. The results are the 
same whether a home training, a school training or both 
combined are given him. The home training is not ade- 



Hie Brain of an Infant 45 

quate, and the school training beyond his immediate ca- 
pacity to grasp. Hence his mind becomes confused, and sur- 
renders to the inevitable mediocrity and is often unjustly 
punished which makes him worse and gives him a stubborn 
disposition hard to overcome. 

It may be established as a truth not to be disputed, that 
if some children of equal physical conditions know more 
than others of the same physical equality, it is because they 
have been trained differently. 

The time to begin the training of a child is in his in- 
fancy, starting him right in the use of his faculties, and 
making him feel from the beginning that the gaining of 
knowledge is one of the most interesting things in the 
world. His enthusiasm must be aroused and constantly 
maintained. 

cause they are brighter, learn more quickly and make a bet- 
ter showing in every respect than their fellows. It is his- 
torical that many of the greatest geniuses the world ever 
knew were the dullest and most backward at school, and 
were left far behind in the school competition. The boys 
that were so much "smarter" than Edison in his school 
days are now bookkeepers, clerks in drygoods stores, or 
grubbing farmers who still believe in a "wet" or "dry 
moon" as a weather test. Grant was not a brilliant boy, 
but considered a very backward one. Henry George ac- 
knowledged that he was always at the foot of his class, and 
when his education was supposed to have been completed 
he would not have successfully passed an examination for 
a position of low requirement. These historical personages 
had little training, but they did have what is not recognized 
as a factor in success, the habits of thought. 

It seems to be the rule that a child must be kept at some 
active occupation every moment of his time. The boy at 



46 The Brain of an Infant 

home after school sits idly thinking. His fond parents 

seeing this state of idleness, compel 

X« e ^? y tji hini to read, or study, or write, or en- 

Who Sits Idle f , , v . ,, , . 

gage m some labor about the house to 

fill in the time and keep him busy. 

Here is a fatal error in more than one case. Children 
are naturally more intelligent than they receive credit for. 
They are new in the world, and there is a universal "why!" 
upon their lips, they thirst for information, and their in- 
quisitiveness is a burden. But, if this natural intelligence 
is blighted, then farewell to further brightness or progress. 
Meeting no response to their growing intelligence and bud- 
ding intellect, they withdraw into themselves and follow 
their own devices. By following these and such devices as 
are suggested them by their companions under the ban of 
the same repressive training, they become the opposite of 
their parents' desires, and meet with reprobation. 

As has been said, children are thinking animals, and 
they should be encouraged to think for themselves, and to 
come as close as they can to the intellectual level of those 
who train them. 

It is certain that a child in the midst of squalid and vul- 
gar surroundings will grow up with a squalid and vulgar 
mind. It is impossible to avoid it, because there are no 
other impressions in his brain but those of vulgarity and 
squalor. After training amid other surroundings may re- 
move the vividness of his earlier surroundings, but the im- 
pressions are there permanently, and liable to be recalled 
to his detriment later in life. 

On the contrary, a child brought up amid pleasant sur- 
roundings will possess a pleasant mind, so to speak, a mind 
open to good thoughts and impressions. He will have noth- 
ing to regret and to emb arras him in his struggles upward. 

It may be a hard task to some parents, nay, in many 



The Brain of an Infant 47 

cases, it is practically impossible to present beautiful things 
to the mind of a child. There is poverty and neglect to con- 
tend against, besides continual daily labor on the part of 
parents make it difficult to watch over a child 's words and 
actions. It is, of course, a labor of love, and where parental 
love is unselfish, the work of beautifying the child's life as 
much as possible is not so very difficult. To create a world 
of sunshine to a child is his making; a world of midnight 
is his undoing. 

When in the presence of their children, parents should 
use the best of English, and they must discuss subjects of 
real moment or interest in a coherent, logical way. They 
must make the children feel that they are considered capa- 
ble of appreciating all that is said. Of course, ill-advised 
language and gossip are to be tabooed wherever children 
are concerned. 

We repeat, because it is vital to know it, that children 
take after their parents, not through hereditary influence, 
but from what their parents teach them, the manner in 
which they are trained, and the information they obtain 
from them. The man is always father to the boy, and the 
woman mother to the girl. 

If parents will take the trouble to surround their chil- 
dren with stimulating environments, something that will 
excite their minds to work, or, in other words, suggest to 

them whatever will be utilized by 

Stimulating them in their work or play, mental 

Environment -, ■> . M1 , 4. • 

development will be apparent in a 

short time, and result in a rapid improvement. 

Every child must be studied to determine what he aims 
to become, or in what he shows aptitude. One child de- 
velops a liking for mathematics, another may prefer to be 
an engineer, another wants to become a physician, or a law- 
yer, or a mason, or a clergyman. By training according to 



44 The Brain of an Infant 

his aptitude he may realize upon his expectations and be- 
come proficient. To resist the child in his yearnings is 
to fasten them more strongly upon him, so that when an 
opportunity arises he will flee from his home influence and 
seek others not so conducive to his welfare. It is common 
experience. 

By training the child to think for himself; to ground 
him in the principles of reasoning, so that he can utilize 
and apply those principles in the study of any subject is 
to make a man of him, and prepare the way for achieve- 
ments that can never be reached or attained by the plodder 
who depends solely upon his memory. It is the sane and 
saf 9 course to pursue. 



RECENT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES 

THE BRAIN AND ITS OPERATIONS -EDUCATING 
THE BRAIN OF THE CHILD -WHY CHILDREN 
ARE GOOD OR BAD- WARDING OFF EVIL- 
LA YING THE FOUNDATION FOR A BRILLIANT 
CAREER. 




CHAPTER V. 

Scientific Discoveries 

HE physical condition of the embryo being well 
balanced, he will come into the world a well 
balanced infant, ready to prepare for his life 
straggle. In this he is dependent upon his 
parents, principally his mother, and it is not to 
be expected that she will neglect his proper training so far 
as she knows what that training is. 

All kinds of different methods of training a child are in 
vogue, most of them extremely elementary, and have no 
bearing upon his after life, or that will fit his future calling 
whatever it may be. 

It must be evident that every human being is intended 
to possess reasoning powers, and to foster the power of 
reasoning the brain is the only proper place to begin his 
development. Physical training is admirable, so is the care 
of his stomach and the denial to him of food that will 
injure him. But after all is said, the child's physical train- 
ing fits him for a greater brain development. 

The ancients had as a maxim: "A healthy mind can 
not exist except in a healthy body." But there is such a 
thing as overdoing the physical training, and thereby in- 
juring the mental efficiency. There must, as in all things 
human, be a balance, an equable distribution of the powers 
and forces that make up the man or woman, and whatever 
4 * 49 



50 Recent Scientific Discoveries 

disturbs that balance necessarily causes detriment either 

to the mind or to the body. 

Very recent discoveries by men of the highest scientific 

attainments, including Metchnikoff , of Parie, Ramon Cajal, 

of Madrid, the late Professor William James, of Harvard 

University, and a host of others, have 
Recent Discoveries made it necessary to alter our entire 

system of mental training. 

It is a fact so common in every day experience that it 
can not be doubted, that whatever the child learns remains 
with him during his whole life. It is difficult to change bad 
habits, and the memory of evil returns to haunt the middle 
aged man. In addition to this, no given education or sys- 
tem of training will eradicate from a child's mind what he 
learned from others. Why can not the memory of evil 
things be effaced from the mind? Why is it that so many 
men revert to their former deeds and strive to emulate 
them in the wrong direction, or from improper motives! 

So far as good is concerned, we have Scriptural author- 
ity to the fact : ' ' Train up a child in the way he should go, 
and when he is old he will not depart from it." The same 
may also be said of evil. When the training of a youth 
has been evil, he will continue in his course, or revert to 
it in his after life. 

The misunderstanding about the old and the modern 

system of training is in not comprehending the part the 

brain plays in the human economy. Brain training is an 

essential as much so as physical train- 

T f rai r*h-?d the Brai ° ing > aild there can be no half way 
° a work about this branch of child train- 

ing. The brain of every newly born child is like a blank 
sheet of paper, upon which is written everything he sees 
and hears, what he is taught by his parents, or others, 
what he learns from companions, and everything good, bad 



Recent Scientific Discoveries 51 

or indifferent is impressed indelibly upon it. He has no 
other source of information in after life, than what he 
draws from his brain. In infancy he is absolutely depend- 
ent upon the outside, but when he begins to think he util- 
izes and applies the impressions of his brain. 

The ancients understood this much of it, for they likened 
the brain of an infant to a clean waxen tablet upon which 
characters were to be written. 

It is to be borne in mind, good reasons will be given 
presently, that every impression upon the brain of an in- 
fant, good or bad, can never be effaced or rubbed out as can 
the writing on wax or paper; it is indelible and permanent. 
Moreover, they can not be forgotten. It is in vain for a 
man or child to say, "I have forgotten." He never does, 
but he does not call the idea to mind, that is, he keeps it 
away from his consciousness, but it is there just the same. 

These permanent impressions may be overcome by sub- 
sequent training and education, which bring strength and 
power to the will, but when the brain or the will power is 
weakened, say by disease, or dissipation, or " caught nap- 
ping," so to speak, the good or the bad crops out to the 
surface involuntarily. 

Scientific men who make a special study of the matter — 
or anatomists — find well defined divisions in the human 
brain, each one of which has a special duty to perform in 
managing the various parts of the human machine. We 
have to do, however, only with that part in which the 
"mind" is said to reside, because it is that part in which 
the operations of the mind, the thinking, the memory, and 
other attributes are performed. This division is in the 
"cerebellum" or little brain, which is a part of the "cere- 
brum" or superior portion of the brain. 

It is in the familiarly called "gray matter" of the cere- 
bellum, that mental operations such as thinking, receiving 



52 Recent Scientific Discoveries 

impressions, exercising memory, etc., are carried on. This 

gray matter consists of an amazing 

Receiving number of infinitely small cells or res- 

p ervoirs which are intended to contain 

thoughts and impressions. The microscope shows this to 
be a fact, however extraordinary it may seem. It does not 
matter whether the individual is large or small, male or 
female, has a well developed head or a malformed one, the 
thought or idea cells are there just the same. 

It has been common knowledge for nearly one hundred 
and fifty years since the time of Eene Descartes, the French 
philosopher, who first announced the discovery, that a 
man's most secret thoughts and impulses could be ascer- 
tained by a physical examination of his brain. 

Since then, the brain of man has been under close in- 
spection and examination by the most learned men in the 
world, physicians, philosophers, and biologists, that is men 
who investigate the source or principle of life under the 
microscope. 

From them, it is learned that these cells of the brain are 
a reservoir for thoughts, impressions, and objects, in fact, 
for everything that can be perceived through the senses or 
imagined. The thought or impression is printed in the cell 
matter like a picture on the sensitive plate in any modern 
camera, or photograph instrument. It is also declared that 
these cell contents may be read under a microscope and 
studied the same as a book or a series of engravings. 

The amazing feature of this discovery, lies in the fact 
that every one of these cells has its appropriate nerves, 
leading to and from it, so that when the will of the owner 
desires to recall a certain thought or 
Brain Cells and i&esL, he starts a nerve in the direction 

of the particular cell where the 
thought, object or impression is situated, and another nerve 



Recent Scientific Discoveries 53 

immediately brings it to his consciousness, and he remem- 
bers, or, if his brain is confused by disease, or other dis- 
turbing cause, the nerves are set jangling and clashing to- 
gether just like crossed wires of a telegraph or telephone, 
and all sorts of ideas, thoughts and impressions are pre- 
sented, out of which he may, if in good health, select the 
proper one. 

We have now a field in which to present a system of edu- 
cating the child in a proper manner, and we comprehend 
that the brain cells must be filled with proper material, or 
his consciousness will go wrong, or have bad ideas and 
thoughts presented to it. Every time any object is shown a 
child, the image of it is lodged permanently in a brain cell. 
If a word is uttered in his presence it is impressed in a cell 
and is never lost except when death comes and destroys the 
brain altogether. 

From the number of the brain cells, it will be understood 
that there is room for the storage of an infinite variety of 
thoughts and impressions, and even in after life, when in- 
fancy and childhood have ended, his growing years con- 
tinue to furnish his brain cells with new ideas, thoughts 
and impressions. When the end comes, every man's brain 
will contain a readable record of his entire life. 

In view of this discovery, eminent divines have inter- 
preted certain passages of the Scripture as meaning the 
brain of man as his "book of judgment." The idea is 
broached in Daniel VII, 10. In Eevelation XX, 12, there is 
a startling reminder of this : 

"And I saw. the dead, small and great, stand before God; 
and the books were opened: and another book was opened, 
which is the book of life ; and the dead were judged out of 
those things which were written in the books, according to 
their works." Everywhere throughout the Scripture it is 
declared that the thoughts of men are known to God, and 
that their inmost thoughts shall be revealed. 



54 Recent Scientific Discoveries 

It has been explained that the will power has only to de- 
sire a certain idea, object, thought or impression in the 
brain cells, and a nerve stretches out and touches the object 
and brings it to the consciousness. 

But there is another wonderful operation of the nerve 
force of the body which is independent of the will power, 
in fact, which can not be controlled by the will power. It 
acts when the will power is gone, or 
Nerve Force of when the mind is unconscious, asleep, 

e ° y in a cataleptic or trance state, insane, 

idiotic, or otherwise unbalanced. This wonderful system of 
nerve power is known as "The Sympathetic System'." 
Through it, the heart beats, the lungs operate, the stomach 
digests food, the blood circulates, and all the organs of the 
body go on with the work assigned each. Whenever any- 
thing goes wrong anywhere in the body the mind is notified 
of the fact through these nerves, but they have nothing to 
do with the will power so far as reaching out and obtaining 
information from the brain cells is concerned. 

If a man wills to move in any direction, a nerve tele- 
graphs orders to the limbs, the tongue, or to any part de- 
sired, and he walks, talks, laughs. But he can not signal 
his blood to stop circulating, his heart to suspend its beat- 
ings, his lungs to stop breathing, his stomach to cease di- 
gesting food. All these things belong to the sympathetic 
system and are beyond his control. 

In their manner of operation the nerves of the sympa- 
thetic system of the body, or the sympathetic nerves, are in- 
dependent of the other nerves under the control of the will 

power. But they are so closely con- 
W'lni?* °* nected that any disturbance of the bal- 

ance of the body, either by disease, 
anxiety, overwork, worry, etc., they touch each other and 
cause a jangle which sets the mind astray. They "cross 



Recent Scientific Discoveries 55 

wires," so to speak, and awaken the cell nerves into action 
when the will power is not operating. This produces a 
variety of dreams, strange mixed thoughts, delirium, and is 
at its height in cases of insanity. 

When a man is awake, and in the possession of his 
senses, as it is said, the thought or impression, word or ob- 
ject, in his brain cell is presented to his consciousness, that 
is to his knowledge or information, like objects thrown up- 
on a screen before the eyes. A man is conscious of certain 
things going on around him, that is, he is aware of them, 
knows what is doing. That is called i i consciousness. ' ' 

But when a man is asleep and does not know what is 
going on around him he is said to be unconscious. Yet his 
mind may be conscious of many things he knows nothing 
about. He may dream of things not known to his waking 
or conscious state. These unconscious things or actions, 
are due to his sympathetic nerves which have jangled with 
his will power nerves. They touch up the objects in the 
brain cells and bring them out to the mind which is then in 
what is called a "sub-conscious" state. Men forget what 
they have dreamed because their subconscious state has re- 
tired into the dominant will power consciousness, and the 
two can not exist at one and the same time. 

It must be evident by this time, that the training and 
education of a child is not so simple as that of an animal 
who is not a responsible being, and has nothing but an ani- 
mal life to look forward to. His brain 

Mnd SUbCOnSCi ° US is the basis ° f his education > and 

with the knowledge that everything 

brought before him is absorbed by his brain cells inefface- 
ably, and will return to his consciousness at some future 
time, or to his subconsciousness to his detriment, the guar- 
dian of a child will think twice before adding anything 
doubtful to his mind, or that will cause him to go astray in 
after life. 



56 Recent Scientific Discoveries 

There is a very curious fact connected with this matter. 
It has been ascertained by thousands of tests made for the 
purpose of finding out its truth, that whatever a child is 
told to keep secret and not divulge, returns to him by way 
of his sub-consciousness, and he dreams the secret. 

If a child sees or hears, or learns something evil, and he 
is told to forget it, and never, never repeat the words or 
speak of the evil, he does not forget because he can not, 
but it will come back to him through his subconsciousness 
and either betray him, or give him pleasure and gradually 
drag him toward moral perversity. 

There is to be found in this the benefit to be derived 
from artistic surroundings. The mind becomes accustomed 
to beautiful objects, and naturally connects virtue with the 
beautiful. 

Perfection, of course, does not exist on earth, but men 
may travel a long stretch on the road to it, far enough, in- 
deed, to perceive it in the distance, and the sight of its 
beauties will nerve him to keep on striving to attain it. 



THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH 

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL TRAINING-HOW THE 
HUMAN BODY IS STRENGTHENED-IMMUN- 
ITY TO DISEASE. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Preservation of Health 







UNIVERSAL truth worth remembering is this: 
It is easier to preserve one's health than it is to 
cure disease after one becomes sick. 

To take a farther step on the question of 
health this should also be remembered: It is not 
so much the environments or conditions in which one lives 
that cause disease, as the habits formed to keep in social 
touch with the environments. This is true whether the in- 
dividual lives in the haunts of poverty or in the palaces of 
wealth. 

Some of the habits are chargeable to lack of proper food, 
filth, uncleanliness of person, mental anxieties, distress, pes- 
simism, late hours, overwork, following the fashion, and 
numerous others. 

With these habits formed and enforced upon the chil- 
dren in our charge, it is a matter of indifference whether 
the environments are changed or not. That individual and 
those he cares for, carry with them everywhere a low physi- 
cal condition. He is non-resistant to the inroads of infec- 
tion and a fertile soil for the propagation of infectious 
germs. Many men who go to foreign climates to recuperate 
die there from the fatigue of the journey, when if they had 
remained at home and changed their habits, or cared 
enough about life to do so, they might have lived longer. 

57 



58 The Preservation of Health 

By changing habits, is not meant that one should change 

physical conditions, but he must bring those conditions up 

to meet whatever there is detrimental in his surroundings. 

He must build up a wall of immunity 
Warding off Disease around Mm wMch win ward off the 

diseases due to his evil and unsanitary environments which 
may exist in the slums and in a palace. The question of how 
to keep well ought to be of more moment to people in gen- 
eral than in methods of cure. But this does not seem to 
concern them very much, for every person is eager to foist 
upon a neighbor some remedy, cure-all or doctor, at the 
slightest symptom of physical irregularity. So it goes with- 
out responsibility, and with a reckless disregard for utility 
or safety. Eemember this : A change of environment with- 
out change of habits will not accomplish any good result to 
the health, whether one has tuberculosis or dyspepsia, or 
other ailment. 

To begin with, we eat all sorts of dangerous food without 
question. In Washington, D. C, recently, one sample of ice 
cream examined under the microscope showed one hundred 
millions of bacteria disease germs to one centimeter (16% 
drops). Yet this ice cream was declared "fine" and the 
expert pronounced a fool. It is unfortunate that so many 
deaths destroy the evidence of this folly. 

There is a close relation between the germs of the mouth 

and diseases common to humanity. In the mouth and about 

the teeth, more than fifty varieties of disease germs have 

been found. They multiply rapidly 

Disease Germs a^d w ith the food find their way into 

of the Mouth ,, , , , ,. , , 

the stomach and alimentary canal. 

Yet by keeping the teeth clean danger of death may be 
avoided easily. 

There is reason in the universal desire to "swat" the 
fly. It has been proven that the stable fly causes infantile 



The Preservation of Health 59 

spinal paralysis, the infection being carried by this insect 
to a new subject and administered by his bite. 

Insects are the carriers of disease germs of every va- 
riety and some of a deadly nature. The flea, the tick, and 
other parasites are responsible for diseases that cause as- 
tonishment and can not be otherwise traced. Cockroaches 
that make their homes in steam heated flats and stores, or 
wherever food is exposed, carry typhoid fever, diphtheria, 
tonsilitis and tuberculosis. Bedbugs carry typhoid fever 
and the leprosy germ. 

A man may go on living with an occasional attack of 
disease, and being cured by a vigorous resistance, fall 
asleep in fancied security, until his resistance is weakened 
and a last illness comes on suddenly, Bright 's disease of the 
kidneys, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and others. 

The reason for this sudden taking off after a long period 
of apparent health is this: The individual was infected 
early in life, but full of vigor and good health, the attacks 
were resisted, but the disease germs were there waiting for 
a chance to kill. They kept on increasing in volume and 
in the manufacture of poisons, until the accumulation finds 
an opening in some simple cause, so simple indeed, that it 
is regarded as incredible. Wet feet, exposure, a day of 
overwork, lack of exercise, loss of sleep, an indigestible 
meal of food at the club, at a banquet, and a hundred other 
causes unlooked for. The individual goes to bed, is found 
dead the next morning, or passes away in three or four days 
after an attack of pneumonia. Perhaps the germ known 
as the " colon bacillus' ' which eats away the walls of the 
arteries and grapples with the heart has been at work since 
his infancy, and seeing an opportunity, takes it, and "Our 
dear brother drops dead from heart disease.' ' All these 
things can be avoided, but it requires some trouble, some 
sacrifices, and to some, life is not worth the labor of keeping 
well. 



60 The Preservation of Health 

The life cells called protoplasms which were explained 
in another place, have been analyzed by chemists and found 
to consist of certain elements of food necessary to maintain 
them and preserve health. 

These cells are the principles of life in the human body, 

and they are the sources of growth and repair, energy, and 

the maintenance of bodily temperature. It is the food or 

fuel we convey into our stomachs 

The Principles which enables them to perform their 

functions, and the absence of that food 
causes them to fail in essential particulars, causing sickness 
and eventually death. 

The basic substance of these life cells, or the food ma- 
terial necessary to their existence, is known as protein, or 
albuminous compounds similar to the white of an egg. In 
fact, in a bird's egg, albumen is the major part of the con- 
tents of the shell and is intended for the nourishment of the 
germ which will grow to be a full fledged creature ready to 
be hatched. 

The next essential substances are sugar and starchy 
foods, known as " carbohydrates," and these with the third 
essential substance, fat which is the generator of the animal 
heat necessary to existence, represent the physical system, 
and without these elements, we can not exist except as inert 
or dead matter. 

There are certain elements or substances essential to 
activity, energy and progressive development, and these 
are called "mineral salts," because they come from phos- 
phorus, potash, sodium, sulphur, lime, 
Mineral Salts magnesia, iron, and silicon. All these 

m e o y bbUs must exist in the body and in the 

life cells in proper proportion or there can be little life in 
us in general. Where there is a lack of them, they must be 
supplied by the food we eat, or administered artificially by 
injection into the body. 



The Preservation of Health 61 

To obtain these mineral salts from the food we consume 
or put into the stomach, there can not be any specific or 
general rule by which all persons may be governed in the 
pursuit of health. 

It is true, that every human being is supplied by nature 
with practically the same physical machinery, but every 
human being is a distinct being, a particular individual en- 
vironed by different conditions, and he is constantly chang- 
ing them for his benefit or detriment. 

Some foods are nutritious to many but injurious to oth- 
ers. Thus the legumes, or beans, peas, etc., are easily di- 
gested in some stomachs, but cause indigestion and stomach 
troubles in others. The same may be said of milk, which, 
however valuable article of food it may be, is positively 
dangerous to some stomachs. Other articles of food may be 
classed according to the same category. 

Every one must be his own judge of the nutritious value 
of the food he eats, relying upon nature to tell him the con- 
trary through the rebellion of his stomach, liver, or other 

dissatisfied organ. It may be well to 

The Nutritious remark here, that it is unwise to try to 

Value of Food , ' ,, , . « - , 

become accustomed to certain foods 

that are recommended and against which the system revolts 
or rebels. That is, it is better to abstain from trying to like 
certain foods we do not like because every body else thinks 
it will be good for us. A safe rule to follow is to eat a 
mixed food diet. A horse will live for many years upon an 
unvarying diet of hay and oats, but man is omnivorous and 
must have variety. A man can not live on quail on toast 
for thirty consecutive days, nature giving out in a week. 
It has been tried and resulted in failure. 

A purely vegetable diet is not in general advisable, be- 
cause the great quantity of vegetable fibre and its cellulose, 
prevents the gastric juices in the stomach from extracting 



62 The Preservation of Health 

the necessary salts already referred to. So a constant diet 
of meat will furnish too much protein, more than the life 
cells can assimilate or absorb. One food should be correc- 
tive of another. 

In line with the practice of trying to eat what does not 
appeal to you because somebody else says it is good for you, 
is the common practice of trying to harden the system to 
cold and other sensations. It may be 
Hardening the j^ flown as a general rule, that no- 

body can accustom himself to anything 
that will lessen the vitality of the body, and by body, is 
meant the life cells already referred to. Indeed, there is 
nothing else to be benefited or injured. Hardening the skin 
or toughening it, does not affect the life cells in any respect, 
and the tough skinned may be in the last stages of tubercu- 
losis, while a tender skin that shivers at the touch of a drop 
of cold water, may belong to an individual that will live to 
be a hundred years old. 

Men think they are hardening themselves by plunging 
into ice cold water, bathing in the sea in winter, or taking 
what they call an invigorating cold plunge every morning. 
Mothers leave the lower limbs of their babes or young chil- 
dren exposed to the cold to harden them, and bundle up 
their upper extremities to prevent their taking cold. In- 
deed, there are so-called "apostles of health,' ' who go about 
the country half dressed in the storms and cold of winter to 
demonstrate the value of hardening the system to inclement 
weather. 

These practices carried to excess are positively danger- 
ous. When we have a fever we hasten to a physician. 
"Why? Because we are persuaded that there is something 
lurking in our system in the way of disease germs that 
causes the fever. We know that a fever destroys the vi- 
tality by burning up the life cells. 



The Preservation of Health 63 

Now, cold is equally as dangerous as fever because it 
lessens the vitality by preventing the life cells of the body 
from exercising their functions which they can do only in 
the presence of heat. Moderation should be inscribed upon 
our health banner, and the comfort of the body and ease of 
the stomach made our great life work. 

There is a certain amount of rugged philosophy to be 
observed in keeping ourselves well. Its tenets are simple, 
and if all would observe them as they may easily do, there 

would be less illness. This philosophy 
Keeping ma y k e practiced in what is known as 

' ' work. ' ' All work means exertion, the 
combustion of body materials, and this reduces the re- 
sistance. Some men when felling a tree will fell the tree in 
their minds before they are half through. A man beginning 
to saw a cord of wood looks at the size of the cord and sighs 
with dismay at the work ahead of him, he has cut the entire 
cord before he has sawed the first stick. 

Some women in their housework rush at it and finish it 
in their minds before they are half way through the house. 
So with a lady starting out to make twenty calls. The first 
few are pleasant enough but she begins to grow weary at 
the number left. Why? Because she has made all the calls 
before doing half. You start out to walk a few miles to 
reach some point desired, and your feet lag before you have 
made half a mile. Why? Because you have walked the 
entire distance in imagination. 

You weary before your work is over because your mind 

is working — doing the work laid out for your body to do in 

advance of the body. The mind consumes as much if not 

. more energy and vitality than the 
Mental Exhaustion body? and ^ y(mr mental attitude has 

exhausted your physical object and you grow weary, of 
course, in fact doubly so. 



64 The Preservation of Health 

The remedy is clear: Keep even with your work or play, 
and do not overdo it, or do overwork by forcing the mind 
to take part in it. Think of other and different things and 
let the life cells supply the energy to do the work in hand, 
thus dividing the tension and minimize the consumption of 
cell material. 

For centuries mankind has weakly submitted to death 
as inevitable, and attached the badge of scapegoat to Di- 
vine Providence who does not will the death of any human 
being. We have been submitting to the yoke of disease as 
man's fate and portion. 

But modern medical science, advancing with giant 

strides, has reached a point in the history of humanity, 

where it may be boldly asserted that the majority of the ills 

afflicting man are of his own contriv- 

Sick by ance, existing with his own direct con- 

Our Own Consent , , , , , ,., 

sent and approval, and even deliber- 
ately fostered by him. "With all his natural physical forces 
fully equipped and marshaled in battle array, ready for him 
to take command and overpower the enemies seeking his 
overthrow, he stands idly by and sees these valiant, friendly 
forces disorganized, put to flight and the enemy in posses- 
sion of his strongholds. Then we or his friends weep, and 
say "The Lord's will be done." It is an insult to the 
majesty of Heaven. 






THE BIBLE ON SEX-HYGIENE 

SUBLIMITY AND SANCTITY OF THE PERPET- 
UATION OF THE HUMAN RACE— THE LAWS 
REQUIRING PERSONAL PURITY COVER SAME 
OFFENCES AND CONDITIONS TO-DAY AS 
THOSE THAT EXISTED THREE THOUSAND 
YEARS AGO -THE RACE IN PERIL OF DE- 
GENERACY FROM PRUDISHLY CONCEALED 
DISEASES. 




CHAPTER VII. 

The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 



HERE was no concealment of the importance of 
sex-hygiene when God and his vicegerent Moses, 
three thousand years ago, published to the great 
nation of the Israelites, without distinction of 
age or sex, the principles of that hygiene which 
tended then and tends now, to raise the human race to a 
higher standard. The diseases that the Mosaic law ex- 
pounds in Leviticus, are all the more prevalent in our days 
inasmuch as they have been disseminated among the chil- 
dren of men during thirty centuries. 

The details of the laws of sex hygiene are given without 
the omission of a single word, and in the exact language of 

Holy Writ: "And the Lord spake 
What the Bible Says unto Moses and to Aaron> sayingy 

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When 
any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of 
his issue he is unclean." 

5 * 65 



Uncleanness of issue* 



LEVITICUS, XV, 



and their cleaning 



CHAPTER XV. 
1 The uncleanness of men in their is- 
sues. 13 The cleansing of them. 19 
The uncleanness of women in their is 
sues. 28 Their cleansing. 

AND the Lord spake unto Moses and 
to Aaron, saying, 
2 Speak unto the children of Isra 
el, and say unto them, oWhen any man 
hath a ^running issue out of his flesh, 
because of his issue he is unclean. 

3 And this shall be his uncleanness in 
his issue: whether his flesh run with his 
issue, or his flesh be stopped from his 
issue, it is his uncleanness. 

4 Every bed, whereon he lieth that 
hath the issue, is unclean: and every 
5thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be un 
clean. 

5 And whosoever toucheth his bed 
shall wash his clothes, band bathe him- 
self in water, and be unclean until the 
even. 

6 And he that sitteth on any thing 
whereon he sat that hath the issue shall 
wash his clothes, and bathe himself in 
water, and be unclean until the even. 

7 And he that toucheth the flesh of 
him that hath the issue shall wash his 
clothes, and bathe himself in water, and 
be unclean until the even. 

8 And if he that hath the issue spit 
upon him that is clean ; then he shall 
wash his clothes, and bathe himself in 
water, and be unclean until the even. 

9 And what saddle soever he rideth 
upon that hath the issue shall be un- 
clean. 

10 And whosoever toucheth any thing 
that was under him shall be unclean un- 
til the even : and he that beareth any of 
those things shall wash his clothes, and 
bathe himself in water, and be unclean 
until the even. 

11 And whomsoever he toucheth that 
hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his 
hands in water, he shall wash his 
clothes, and bathe himself in water, and 
be unclean until the even. 

12 And the cvessel of earth, that he 
toucheth which hath the issue, shall be 
broken: and every vessel of wood shall 
be rinsed in water. 

13 And when he that hath an issue is 
cleansed of his issue ; then dhe shall 
number to himself seven days for his 
cleansing, and wash his clothes, and 
bathe his flesh in running water, and 
shall be clean. 

14 And on the eighth day he shall take 
to him etwo turtledoves, or two young 
pigeons, and come before the Lord until 
the door of the tabernacle of the congre- 
gation, and give them unto the priest : 

15 And the priest shall offer them, 
/the one for a sin offering, and the 
other for a burnt offering; £rand the 
priest shall make an atonement for him 
before the Lord for his issue. 

16 And hit any man's seed of copu- 
lation go out from him, then he shall 
wash all his flesh in water, and be un- 
clean until the even. 



B. 0. 1490 



a ch. 22. 4. 
Num. 5. 2. 
2S'm.3.29. 
Matt.9.20. 
Mark 5.25. 
Luke 8.43. 

U Or, run- 
ning of 
the reins. 



5 Heb. ves- 



6ch.ll.25 : 
17, 15. 



c ch. 6. 28 ; 

11. 32. 33. 
d ver. 28. 

ch. 14. 8. 
e ch.14.22, 

23. 
/ ch.14.30, 

31. 

g ch.14,19, 

31. 



h ch. 22. 4. 

De*t.23.10. 
i 1 Sam.21. 

4. 

A; ch. 12. 2. 
* Heb. in 

her sepa- 
ration. 
I See ch.20. 

18. 
m Matt. 9. 

20. 

Mark 6.25. 

Luke 8.48. 
n ver. 13. 
o ch. 11.47. 

Deut.24.8. 

Eze.44.23. 
p Num.5. 3 ; 

19. 13, 20. 

Ezek.5.11 ; 

23. 38. 
q ver. 2. 
r ver. 16. 
a ver. 10. 
t ver. 25. 
u ver. 24. 

66 



17 And every garment, and every 
skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, 
shall be washed with water, and be un- 
clean until the even. 

18 The woman also with whom man 
shall lie with seed of copulation, they 
shall both bathe themselvet in water, 
and ibe unclean until the even. 

19 And fcif a woman have an issue, 
and her issue in her flesh be blood, she 
shall be 2put apart seven days ; and who- 
soever toucheth her shall be unclean un- 
til the even. 

20 And every thing that she lieth up- 
on in her separation shall be unclean: 
every thing also that she sitteth upon 
shall be unclean. 

21 And whosoever toucheth her bed 
shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself 
in water, and be unclean until the even. 

22 And whosoever toucheth any thing 
that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, 
and bathe himself in water, and be un- 
clean until the even. 

23 And if it be on her bed, or on any 
thing whereon she sitteth, when he 
toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the 
even. 

24 And Kf any man lie with her at 
all, and her flowers be upon him, he 
shall be unclean seven days ; and all the 
bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean. 

25 And if ma woman have an issue 
of her blood many days out of the time 
of her separation, or if it run beyond 
the time of her separation ; all the days 
of her issue of her uncleanness shall be 
as the days of her separation : she ahall 
be unclean. 

26 Every bed whereon she lieth all the 
days of her issue shall be unto her as 
the bed of her separation: and whatso- 
ever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, 
as the uncleanness of her separation. 

27 And whosoever toucheth those 
things shall be unclean, and shall wash 
his clothes, and bathe himself in water, 
and be unclean until the even. 

28 But ttif she be cleansed of her is- 
sue, then she shall number to herself 
seven days, and after that she shall be 
clean. 

29 And on the eighth day she shall 
take unto her two turtles, or two 
young pigeons, and bring them unto the 
priest, to the door of the tabernacle of 
the congregation. 

30 And the priest shall offer the one 
for a sin offering, and the other for a 
burnt offering ; and the priest shall 
make an atonement for her before the 
Lord for the issue of her uncleanness. 

31 Thus shall ye separate the children 
of Israel from their uncleanness i that 
they die not in their uncleanness, when 
they ^defile my tabernacle that is among 
them. 

32 oThis is the law of him that hath 
an issue, rand of him whose seed goeth 
from him, and is defiled therewith. 

83 aAnd of her that is sick of her 
flowers, and of him that hath an issue, 
of the man, tand of the woman, uand of 
him that lieth with her that is unclean. 



The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 67 

In this " running issue" specified in the Bible we have a 
common disease among men and women in these modern 
times, aggravated by its growth and continuance for thou- 
sands of years, and by neglect which has proved fatal to 
life, and which is destroying multitudes through physical 
complications that are ignored or regarded as too shameful 
to be mentioned even to a physician. From this same ' ' run- 
ning issue,' ' come numerous diseases which are dosed with 
medicines which accomplish no cure because the reason or 
the cause of the disease is not sought. 

In rheumatism, blindness, locomotor ataxia, kidney dis- 
eases, weakness, debility, mental distress, and even imbe- 
cility, we find the cause to be this ' ' running issue, ' ' but it 
is ignored, and tonics, liniments, and 
Rheumatism, drugs are poured out like water, with 

S 1 ^^' J?°° ° as little efficacy as water upon a 
motor Ataxia , ;» , ,, F , 

duck's back, until death comes and 

then it is "The will of God." 

Added to this biblical disease, modern man is afflicted 
with another that is eating out the vitals of the race. Syph- 
ilis claims more victims than war or the "great white 
plague," and it is an infection carried by the blood into the 
embryo human being in its mother's body. 

Nearly every ill that human flesh is heir to, may be 
traced to this second disease which arises nearly from the 
same cause as the biblical infection. Syphilis destroys the 
resistance of the human system to the encroachments of 
other infectious diseases ; subjects the body to their attacks 
where a normal, healthy body would ward them off. 

Tuberculosis, pneumonia, diphthe- 
Tuberculosis, ria, and other infectious germ diseases 

£ neu fP OIua » find favorable breeding ground in the 

syphilitic body. If we look behind 
mere appearances and into causes, we shall find that the 



68 The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 

sudden deaths from pneumonia, heart failure, infantile 
paralysis, and a hundred manifestations of fatal diseases, 
originated in a body charged with the germs of syphilis, 
and rendered by them incompetent to resist the attacks of 
diseases that would not give a normal man a single night's 
insomnia. 

The most distressing feature of these two diseases, the 
biblical one and syphilis, is that both may be acquired in- 
nocently. The mother may receive it from the father, and 
so transmit it to the child, who either comes into the world 
an imbecile, a non-resistant to the fatal diseases of child- 
hood, a cripple, a monster, an incompetent, a degenerate or 
a reprobate, die of infantile weakness, or grow up to still 
further spread the infection to another generation. A single 
drop of blood, a microscopic examination of what is known 
as a "smear," a sample of mucous, would identify the germ 
of either disease, and its ravages in that particular body 
whether man or woman could be terminated. 

Here is where sex hygiene merges into "eugenics," or 
the improvement of the human race, and which is beyond 
the scope of this chapter except as a reference. It is pur- 
posed to go deeper than eugenics, and show why the human 
race stands in need of improvement. There is some reason, 
some cause why the human race stands in dire fear of de- 
generacy; why our legislators and reformers are making 
the greatest efforts to cure or rather prevent degeneracy. 
It is hoped that the reason or cause can be given without 
offending the delicacy of any man or woman who thinks 
the life of his children are of more value than a strong word 
or so to explain why they are diseased, why they die in 
their babyhood, why they suffer from all sorts of diseases, 
and why, when they reach maturity, they produce weak, 
diseased children, impoverished and aenemic bodies and 
perpetuate death instead of life. 



The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 69 

Hygiene means " sanitary' ' or health science, and there 
is nothing mysterious when it is applied to sex. Everybody 
knows what sex is without explanation, unless they are 
blind and can not distinguish between 
Heaitn science ^ sexes> j n pi a i n language, sex hy- 

giene means sexual cleanliness. It is the same as saying 
mental cleanliness or soul cleanliness, or bodily cleanliness. 
Do not connect sex cleanliness with purification by water, 
for oceans of water would never clean the human mind or 
soul from its load in impurities, filth, and mud. In sex hy- 
giene, the mind or the soul, the intellectual faculties are 
connected with sex and they can not be separated, or made 
to stand alone, one without the other, for the laws of nature 
ever stand in the way and these laws will not brook altera- 
tion by man. 

The laws of nature are numerous and intricate. Many of 
them are unknown and may never be known, but there are 
some that can easily be understood and made clear to the 
understanding. 

If a stone is thrown into the air it comes down again. 
That is a manifestation of the law of gravity. Every body 
knows that, it is so simple. Try to violate that law of na- 
ture by casting a stone in the air and stand under it ex- 
pecting the law to be suspended, but your head will feel the 
operation of that law when the stone falls upon it. Every- 
thing is governed by some law which is its natural law. The 
natural law of a razor is sharpness. Try to violate that 
law by drawing the instrument across your hand, and you 
will comprehend this law by the cut you receive. The law 
of a flower is to grow and bloom while on its stalk. Snip it 
off and it dies because its law of life is violated. The human 
stomach is made to digest proper food. If you violate its 
law by putting something indigestible into it, the violated 
law protests in the shape of a pain or colic. If you grasp 



70 The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 

a thistle or a thorny rose, you feel the operation of a pro- 
tective law that can not be violated with impunity. 

It may be said that all created things, created for a pur- 
pose, are governed by some law which is a law of nature, 
imposed upon them for their protection or to enable them 
to carry out the object for which they were created. 

We are now on the threshold of sex hygiene which cov- 
ers certain laws of nature, and which will explain the rea- 
sons why there was a * ' running issue, ' ' as mentioned in the 
Bible, and also why syphilis exists 
x y£ iene and is committing such great ravages 

among the human family. 

We can not go to paganism to explain, for if we do that 
we shall be perpetuating the " running issue' ' and the syph- 
ilis, for there is where both originated, and it is why both 
are perpetuated in our day. We must go to a higher au- 
thority, and there is not and can not be any higher author- 
ity than God, the Creator. Let us not investigate the cause 
of creation for we can not penetrate into the mind of the 
Supreme Being, but let us ascertain the object and pur- 
poses of the creation. We go to the Bible which tells us of 
sex hygiene, and find out everything in the first chapter of 
Genesis : 

11. "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, 

the herb yielding seed, and the fruit 

The First Chapter tree yielding fruit after its kind, 

nes whose seed is in itself, upon the earth : 

and it was so. 

20. "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abun- 
dantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that 
may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 

21. "And God created great whales, and every living 
creature which the waters brought forth abundantly, after 



The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 71 

their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind, and God 
saw that it was good. 

22. "And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and 
multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl mul- 
tiply in the earth. 

24. "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living 
creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast 
of the earth after his kind : and it was so. 

25. "And God made the beast of the earth after his 
kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creep- 
eth upon the earth after his kind : and God saw that it was 
good. 

27. ' ' So God created man in his own image, in the im- 
age of God created he him; male and female created he 
them. 

28. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, 
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, . . ." 

Here we have the law of all created things, man includ- 
ed: "BE FBUITFUL, AND MULTIPLY/ ' 

In animals below the order of man, there is not to be 
found either of the diseases above specified, or any diseases 
of a sexual character, because they observe the law. 

Man does not obey the law, therefore, he acquires the 
diseases peculiar to sex. It is logical. Nor is there any 
escape by refusing to be fruitful, or by practicing the vir- 
tues of an anchorite. In that case 
Oh 11 th GS T °* another law is violated, which is, that 

what is destined for a certain purpose 
must accomplish that purpose or perish through neglect. 
We are taught to exercise the muscles of the body or they 
will become weak and flabby. There are fish in dark caves 
of the earth which can not see, they are blind and have only 
rudimentary eyes. Not using the power of vision they lose 
their sight altogether. A Hindoo fakir will hold his arm 



72 The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 

up in the air so long that the muscles not being put to any 
use, harden and can not be used. 

A very good illustration is that of the barren fig tree in 
Matthew XXI :19. "And when he saw a fig tree in the way, 
he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, 
and said unto it, 'Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for- 
ever,' and presently the iig tree withered away." 

The law of perpetuation of the species is not obeyed by 

bringing diseased offspring into the world. The type of 

manhood first created was perfect, and he was to beget his 

like, not some other being — a being im- 

The Law of perfect, corrupt, and a breeder of dis- 

^ ease. So the violation o f the law be- 

comes continuous and widespread. We can not say that 
the punishment for this violation comes from God, because 
the violation of any physical law carries its own punish- 
ment. A rock crystal diverted from the law of its crystalli- 
zation is destroyed, and the sexual law violated means 
degeneracy, disease, death. 

The appalling universality of the sexual diseases can 
have but one objective point, the undermining of the mor- 
ality and purity of family life. We seem to be passing 
through an era of moral decadence contemporaneous with 
effeminacy, sensuality, and luxury. Chaddock gives us the 
opinion of Dr. von Kraft-Ebing, the celebrated neurologist 
and author of Psychopathia Sexualis: "These conditions 
can only be conceived as occurring with increased demands 
upon the nervous system, which must meet these require- 
ments. As a result of increase of nervousness, there is in- 
crease of sensuality, which leads to excesses among the 
masses. 

"In obeying the law of the propagation of the human 
species, it is given man to raise himself to a height where 
his natural instinct no longer makes him a slave; higher, 



The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 73 

nobler feelings are awakened, which, notwithstanding their 
sensual origin, expand into a world of beauty, sublimity, 
and morality. 

"On this height man overcomes his natural instinct, and 
from an inexhaustible spring draws material and inspira- 
tion for higher enjoyment, for more earnest work, and the 
attainment of the ideal. ' ' 

Maudsley rightly calls the sexual feeling the foundation 

for the development of the social f eel- 

The Development i ng . "Were man to be robbed of the 

instinct of procreation and all that 
arises from it mentally, nearly all poetry and, perhaps, the 
entire moral sense as well, would be torn from his life. ' ' 

Sexuality is the most powerful factor in individual and 
social existence; the strongest incentive to the exertion of 
strength and acquisition of property, to the foundation of 
a home, and to the awakening of altruistic feelings, first 
for a person of the opposite sex, then for the offspring, and, 
in a wider sense, for all humanity. 

This is the instinct that God has placed in the human 
heart for the proper observance of his great law of the 
perpetuation of the human species. Woe to him who tram- 
ples it into the dust, perverts it, or substitutes for it the 
criminal diseases that are undermining the home, society, 
morality, and bringing upon us depravity, incompetency, 
and the crime of race suicide. 

It is interesting to note that the Jews as a race are sin- 
gularly free from the contaminations arising from the 
sexual diseases. The reason is because they have the law 
of Moses on sex-hygiene, already given, and are particu- 
larly anxious to observe it on the some line as they observe 
all of the laws of their ancient lawgiver. 

On the contrary, it may be said with truth that the other 



74 The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 

races axe honeycombed with the diseases of degradation, 
perhaps because they have no system of sex hygiene. There 
are ulcers on the body politic that can not see their way 
clear to fashion any sure cure for the physical rottenness 
that is undermining the State, and there is not strength of 
conviction enough to cut them off and cast them into the 
garbage can. 

The " unfit' ' throng our streets and crowd the "fit" 
against the wall. The girl goes to the arms of her syphilitic 
husband without a tremor of fear, and in her first mother- 
hood she refuses to perceive in the "scald head," the 
eczema, the weakling, perhaps the idiotic, the effects of her 
"freedom of choice." 

We can not, in the United States, enact sumptuary laws, 
our constitutional provisions excluding the idea of a paren- 
tal system of government. But there is such a thing as 
education, and this carried into every grade of school or 
college must produce results. 

When we know the statistics, all scruples should vanish. 
One-third of the infant mortality is due to prenatal condi- 
tions, congenital diseases which afflict the child at birth, 
and which mean either speedy death or a lingering cripple 
life. At least 75 per cent of the cases of infant blindness 
are due to the "running issue," and the ground is in a con- 
stant state of high and fertile cultivation for the planting 
of the seeds of tuberculosis, pneumonia, diphtheria, rheu- 
matism, locomotor ataxia, paralysis, degeneracy, and crim- 
inal tendencies. 

A noted lawyer and statesman once said: "If clergy- 
men would make as strenuous efforts to save souls as law- 
yers do to save a criminal client, there would be few souls 
lost." 



The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 75 

It is for our clergy and good people generally to con- 
sider the ravages made by the "running issue " and syph- 
ilis. There is a nice way and a vulgar way to teach this 
important branch of sex hygiene. Consider this view of the 
matter: 

Can your beloved children be any worse with a knowl- 
edge of the sublimity of their mission on earth than with a 
perfect knowledge of its vulgarity? 

All young people are threatened with these diseases. It 
is so insidious that the most innocent are struck by it on all 
occasions. A drink from a common cup; the use of a com- 
mon towel; the handling of a common 
Our Young People spoon; the use of a common plate, and 
in Lianger often the very breathing of a common 

atmosphere, and the infection is lodged in the system to 
breed and bring suffering and diseased conditions that are 
incurable and socially dangerous. 

Teach your children why they are physically created as 
they are. Lead them to higher aspirations and pull them 
out of the rut of low associations. Virtue is taught nega- 
tively when it should be taught positively and actively. 
The great fear of parents is that in putting the question of 
sex hygiene before their children they will be led to make 
a bad use of the knowledge and be led from the path of 
virtue. 

We must concede that the danger of ignorance is more 
pernicious than the knowledge of what to avoid. There are 
very few children who have reached the age of ten or twelve 
years who do not know the uses to which the members of 
their body may be put, there is not a learned physician or 
scientist who knows more on the subject of sex differences, 
but the vulgar side only is within their purview. They 
learn it from their companions who learn it from depraved 
persons. How can they learn better f How can their ideas 



76 The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 

of the sex instincts be elevated into the regions of the 
sublime? How can a boy or girl know that their destiny 
as perpetuators of the human species is to be almost in the 
shadow of the Creator — if they are not told? 

Let the boy look upon the girl as a future mother; let 

the girl look upon the boy as a future father — but when 

they know that this is a high destiny, a beautiful and high 

destiny, they will not soil their knowl- 

The Boy and e jg e w ^h vulgarity or bestiality. 

Children reason like adults and 
sometimes their reasoning is more logical. Taken at an age 
when the sensual passions have not been developed, and 
when they do not see mere physical gratification, and mak- 
ing clear to them the dangers, the dreadful consequences of 
yielding to his worse nature; that there is a divinity in his 
make up and that they are not mere denizens of a pool of 
filth but are destined to live forever in the pure air and 
enjoy eternal life of Paradise. This view of the subject 
would compel a Turk to lead a life of purity and decency, 
how much more would it influence a reasonable and intelli- 
gent American child. 

There is only one thing that can be done, and it is a duty 
to do it if we value our children, our country, the purity of 
mankind, and the lessening of criminal tendencies. That 
one thing is to go back to the sex hygiene of three thousand 
years ago, with such additions and amendments as will fit 
modern conditions. Social life depends upon this. 

It was intimated that under our system of government, 

sumptuary laws, or those laws which regulate home life, 

personal liberty, independence, freedom of choice, and other 

privileges granted in our Federal and 

S U Govlrnment State Constitntions > but boards of 

health, public demand will override 

rigid rules because they are basic — the people rule, and 



The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 77 

what the people demand as essential to their health, virtue, 
happiness and comfort, must be accorded them. 

Eemember this one great obstacle in the way of personal 
purity so far as it affects the great American public : There 
are hundreds of thousands of incompetents breeding other 

incompetents, swelling the number 
ersona unty an( ^ crow( ji n g. closely upon the heels of 

the efficient. The State is taxed into many tens of millions 
to support these incompetents and preserve their privilege 
to create other incompetents. They are turned loose from 
our institutions — crowded out, in fact, by a constant stream 
of newcomers, to fasten upon decency and manufacture in- 
decency. Our public streets flaunt with vice of every char- 
acter, from the ruin of an innocent maiden to the perver- 
sion of an innocent boy. It stalks freely in our midst and 
laughs at the efforts made to suppress it. When one drops 
out into rottenness, two others take her or his place, and 
so on in regular progression, like the mountain of snow ac- 
cumulating by the rolling of a small ball. 

There are other and more beautiful and beneficial things 
than fine clothes, theaters, dances, attrition between the 
6exes that is going on everywhere unrestrained. There is 
the mind and its attributes to be clothed with reason, art, 
education. The human soul of the present day may be lik- 
ened to a sparkling diamond dimmed in luster by a bed of 
mud or filth. Eemove it and it will sparkle again, and in its 
sparkle will rejoice in its escape from annihilation and 
obloquy. 

A mind is not impure when it looks upon sex instincts 
with pleasure and anticipates the family, the home, and 
peace with bursting buds to follow after it has no more con- 
tact with the things of earth; it is the 
Sex Instinct vulgar impulses that drag it down to 

the depths, that soil its purity, dim its luster. 



78 The Bible on Sex-Hygiene 

It is not altogether religion that will cure the sexual 
evils that incumber the people of the United States. It is 
personal health and comfort that must be called in aid. Do 
not handle that sharp razor, my son, it will cut you. So 
says the father to his son, and the boy puts down the razor 
and plays with less dangerous toys. You must not put your 
hand in the fire, my daughter, it will burn. So says the 
mother to her daughter, and the daughter obeys, fearing 
harm. Applying the same method of reasoning and instruc- 
tion to sex hygiene and we have the problem solved. 

The most earnest men and women of the country are 

engaged in wrestling with this problem, but there is no 

problem to be solved. It is already solved in the language 

of God through his prophets. What is 

A Problem for to be solved is the problem: How can 

Earnest Men and 1 1 n 

Women we overcome the repugnance of pa- 

rents, guardians and teachers, to tell 
their children how to save themselves; what to do to in- 
struct them in the ways of purity by showing them how 
personal purity can be maintained; how much better is a 
life of purity and decency than one of degradation; to what 
the misuse of the members of the body will lead ; how beau- 
tiful are the uses of men and women in the perpetuation of 
their race; how to stand up against their own sensual appe- 
tites to preserve health, intelligence, and freedom from the 
attacks of disease; how to save their future children from 
idiocy, blindness, depravity, degeneracy and crime by the 
use of their reasoning faculties. 

This is the problem; this is the struggle, and our chil- 
dren and the children of the future are waiting to be in- 
structed, not to be kept in ignorance, not to be destroyed by 
the most fatal of secret things, the darkness surrounding 
the sexual relations. 



SEX LIFE 

THE PATHWAY TO 

MENTAL AND PHYSICAL PERFECTION 

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 
BOOK OF SEXUAL KNOWLEDGE 

BY 

MARY RIES MELENDY, M. D., Ph. D. 

AUTHOR OF SCIENTIFIC WORKS AND EMINENT PRACTITIONER 



A BRAVE AND SCHOLARLY TREATMENT OF 

SEX LIFE, PARENTHOOD, CHILD TRAINING, BEAUTY LAWS 

AND VITAL INTERESTS OF WOMEN AND OF MEN 



Also a Comprehensive Treatment of Disease and Its Remedies, 

Including Materia Medic a. A Plea for Self-Knowledge, 

Self Mastery, and Self-Development. 



COMPLETE INDEX AND GLOSSARY 



COPYRIGHT 1904 BY W. R. VANSANT 
COPYRIGHT 1914 BY W. R. VANSANT 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



PREFACE 



THE life-knowledge which brings health to body, mind and soul, 
is the practical, crying need of the twentieth century. Dawning 
light is seen in the new revelations of medical science, in the discovery 
of hitherto unknown laws of pre-natal culture and of mental control; 
so that the pathway to physical perfection is opened wide before 
humanity of to-day. It is woman who must walk therein, and it is 
woman's gift to the world that makes the onward and upward steps 
possible. 

The object of this book is to teach humanity how to keep well, and 
to give to the sick the necessary advice and treatment to make them 
well. There is not a muscle or nerve in the human body which cannot 
be brought under the control of the mind. Many physicians have been 
and are giving their attention almost entirely to the study and prescrib- 
ing for the body only, neglecting to cultivate the natural force of 
recuperation which is inherent in every human being, which constitutes 
the mind and will. Scientists or Metaphysicians have gone to the other 
extreme, refusing to recognize the body, or sanction the use of neces- 
sary remedies. The wise physician is he who bends all things to his 
service in the evolution of good to mankind. 

The normal condition of man or woman is one of health. The 
physician should be broad minded, accept the best in the healing art, 
place the patient in the right way of regaining his health, and Nature 
will perfect the recovery. The power of the mind cannot be relied 
upon for the cure of all diseases, neither can medicines always be 
relied upon alone, for a cure. 

9 



10 PREFACE. 

By combining the two the best results are always obtained. To 
refuse to employ remedies of any kind is the height of folly and indi- 
cates the weak spot and prejudice of the mental healer; on the other 
hand for a highly qualified physician and surgeon to refuse to acknowl- 
edge the power of mind over disease, when intelligently directed by 
scientific methods, indicates weakness, ignorance or prejudice un- 
pardonable on his part. 

The true physician must be a physician to the soul as well as to 
the body. By the bed-side, he is the minister, the doctor, the healer, 
the teacher to the suffering soul seeking relief from mental and 
physical bondage. 

The study of Physics and Metaphysics harmonizes all science, 
solves the problem of evil, sickness, sorrow and death, and how to 
rise above them; explains the nature of mind, soul and spirit and 
makes man the conscious child of the Infinite Spirit, with power to 
control his body unto perfection and to wield all the forces of Nature 
for his use and pleasure. 

The author and compiler of this book, Mary Ries Melendy, M. D., 
Ph. D., is an eminent physician of Chicago, born in Switzerland, hav- 
ing the unparalleled record of twenty-five years of general practice 
without the loss of a single case originally placed in her hands. 

Dr. Melendy is a graduate of Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago; 
of Bennett Eclectic Medical College, Chicago ; Student at Rush Medical 
Clinic, Cook County (Chicago) Hospital; Lecturer on Diseases of 
Women and Children in the American Health University, Chicago, 
etc., etc. All this is supplemented by her rarely successful experience 
in an extended practice, and by her own independent researches and 
discoveries. 

For more than thirty years Dr. Melendy has made a study of the 
finer healing, remedial and constructive forces of Nature. She has 
attended many different medical schools, and numerous hospitals. 
She was the only woman in one hospital of 300 students. With 
indomitable pluck she overcame all obstacles and gained her knowl- 



PREFACE. 13 

edge. In addition to her school-lore and hospital experience, she has 
engaged in valuable original researches, which have penetrated to the 
very centers of life, and wrested Nature's most precious secrets for 
the good of humanity. 

Because a large share of her practice has been with the delicate 
organizations of women and children, it is a happy circumstance that 
her remedies, treatments, and, in fact, her whole habit of thought have 
been in deep sympathy with these elements of society, and her message 
to them is one of hope and new life. 

In her early years in Switzerland she was the direct personal pupil 
of the great Froebel, whose principles of child-education have revolu- 
tionized the world. Dr. Melendy is an ardent admirer and advocate of 
these principles, and hence she gives to the production of this book 
(the culmination of her beautiful life-work) a combined knowledge, 
experience, art, love and power which will bring hope and joy to 
countless homes in every land. 

We are pleased to lay these pages, thus richly freighted, before the 
public, knowing that they are full of virtue and power for humanity. 

THE PUBLISHERS. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
LIFE-CENTERS. 

A Fascinating Search — Knowledge that Makes Pure — The Four Power-Houses — Little 
Cells that are Specialists — "Wrinkles" in the Brain — Woman's Lofty Brain-De- 
velopment — Amusing Anti-Climax of the Philosopher — Why Woman Has "Intui- 
tions ' ' — Causes of Insomnia — How to Have a Vigorous Brain — It Is Wise to ' ' Change 
Your Mind ' '—Getting Eid of ' ' The Blues ' '—The Seat of Magnetic Power— Chasing 
Away the Burglar-Thoughts — The Greatest Nerve-Center — Why Woman is Elastic — 
Must Mate to Be Complete — The Temperaments to Select From — People Who Mature 
Early — Large- Jointed Folks — The Eed-Faced — Sleepy People — Not Slaves of Fate . . 39 

CHAPTER II. 
MAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN. 

Beauty the Magic Charm — The Hidden Law — Bright Eyes, Animation, Grace, Express 
the Motherhood Idea — Beauty in Form and its Meaning — No Abnormal Compression 
Needed — Full Breasts of Artist's Ideal — Sprightliness of Step; Why it Attracts — 
Musical Voice — Erect Bearing — The Slender Style — The Plump Type — The California 
Girl — Eacial Standards — Soul-Power — Artistic Taste — The Eeligious Instinct — Love 
of Mate and of Offspring — Tact — Intuition — Discreet Eeserve — Woman's Tact and 
Eloquence Powerful, Even in Business — Transmitting Qualities Not Her Own — 
Graces Can be Grown 62 

CHAPTER in. 
GROWING BEAUTIFUL. 

Multiplied Power of a Beautiful Mother — Beauty for All, the Twentieth Century's 
Prophecy — Evolution from the Greek Standard of Beauty — Modern Measurements — 
Eaphael's "Serpentine, Fire-Flame Curve of Beauty" — Disfigurement of Tight Lac- 
ing — "No Suggestion of Bone or Muscle" — Beauty-Hunger Divinely Implanted — 
Treating God's Temple with Dainty Care — Young and Beautiful at Fifty — Plain 
Girls Growing Handsome — Story of the Two Sisters — Mind-Treasures Beautify Ex- 
pression — Brightness, Love and Harmony are Wonder-Workers — Five Sunshine Eules 
— Importance of Healthy Sex-Nature — Positive Manly Force and Charming Feminine 
Power — Aim for Beauty which Can be Transmitted — Four Cardinal Points of Health 
and Beauty 74 

CHAPTER IV. 
BEAUTY DIET. 

Ample Variety of Selection — Many Foods are Beauty-Producing — Which Water Pro- 
duces Beautiful Teeth? — Meats Must be Fresh — Hot Milk is Eeviving — Eggs are 
Complete Food — Vegetables and Grains — Nuts a Perfect Substitute for Meat — 
Valuable Table of Nutritious Foods — As a Beauty-Producer, Fruit is Woman's Boon 
— Fruit for the Complexion — How to Improve the Whole Physique 87 

15 



16 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 
BEAUTY DIET, CONTINUED. 

Crimson Cereal Fruit Complexion Dish — Lemons for Insomnia — Fruit for Alcoholic Dis- 
ease — Chopped Dates — Acids for Biliousness — Hints to the Florid — Sick Headaches 
Do Not Beautify; Cut Them Out — How to Overcome Constipation — Classified Foods 
— How to Cook Meats — Expert Cooking of Vegetables — Diet to Fatten — Diet to 
Reduce Flesh— The ' ' Don 't-Worry ' > Dinner 96 

CHAPTER VI. 
BEAUTY BATHS. 
World Famous Beauties — Borax and Oil — Charm of Cleanliness — A Skin Like Velvet — 
Baths Improve Form and Features — Dignity of Skin-Functions — The Great Ally of 
the Lungs — Two and a Quarter Millions of Glands — Bathing Eules — Tonic and Ex- 
hilarating Effects — The Glow of Reaction — Corpulent People — The Daily Sponge 
Bath — The F«>rty Degree Eule — Swimming — Sea Bathing — Ammonia — Medicated 
Baths — Special Beauty Bath — The Bran-Bag — Cleansing Effect of Vinegar — Oil Bath 
for Thin People — Air and Sun Baths — Earth Cure Bath — Foot-Baths — Sitz-Baths — 
"Sleep Bath" for the Weakly— Making a Bath Cabinet— The Turkish Bath at Home 
— Reducing the Abdomen 107 

CHAPTER VII. 
A BREATH OF AIR. 

&o You Breathe? — Poisoned Life Cells — The Pure Sleeping-Room — Live a Full Life- 
Six Hundred Millions of Lung-Cells — Thirty-five Thousand Pints of Blood Every Day 
— Deep Breathers are Magnetic — Secret of Sex- Attraction — Fear the Great Robber — 
Males are Half; Females are Quarter-Breathers — Breathing the Deliverance from 
Consumption — Get that Extra Curve in Your Back — The Voice that Rings — ' ' Ten 
Times Ten" — Hindu Breathing — Breathe Like a Horse — Develop Lungs and Chest — 
Don't Be "Blue-Blooded' ' — Five Breathing Exercises — How to Let Go — Cure for 
"The Blues"— The "Door-Fan"— The Three Fowls— Open Air Life— Outdoor Games 
—Health is "Catching" 122 

CHAPTER VIII. 
CARE OF THE FACE. 
Fear Neither Old Sol, nor King Boreas — Lotions and Powder — The Pride of Cleanliness 
— Eight Complexion Rules — Rough Face Surface — An Approved Cream — Cucumbers 
for Freckles — Lemon Lotion — Strawberries Invaluable — Cream of Strawberries — Let- 
tuce Milk — Frostbite — Sunburn — Cosmetic Jelly — Eruptions and Pimples — Lack or 
Surplus of Color — Moles, Warts and "Pits" — Cause and Cure of Wrinkles — Eyes are 
Soul-Windows — Lotion for Inflamed Eyes — Foreign Substances in the Eye- — The Eye- 
brows' Graceful Arch — Clearing the Ears — Purple Lips 141 

CHAPTER IX. 
CARE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 

Palmistry a Science — Record of Joys and Sorrows — Four Types — Scientific Dishwashing 
— Wear Your Gloves — Lemon and Borax — Freckled and Chapped Hands — Important 
Rule About Glycerine — Rough Work, yet Beautiful Hands — Care of the Nails — In- 
growing Toe Nails — Comfort for the Feet — Enlarged Joints — Importance of the Foot 
Bath— The Sand-Bath— The Sin of "Corn" Cultivation— Large Feet Often a Mark 
of Genius > • • 159 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 17 

CHAPTER X. 
CARE OF THE HAIR AND TEETH. 

Hair a Factor in Fascination — General Health is Necessary — " Brown in Shadow, Gold 
in Sun" — Hot and Cold Shampoo — Massage — Safe Use of Curling Iron — Brushing 
Makes Soft and Glossy Hair — Fragrance and Silkiness — The Hair at Night — Rules 
of Taste in Dressing the Hair — Test the New Fashions — To Neutralize Chalk-Dust — 
Invigorating the Hair in Hot Water — Dandruff — Egg-Shampoo — Baldness — Worry 
Brings Gray Hair— Think "Joy-Thoughts"— Teeth, "the Pearly Gifts of Natures- 
Tooth Paste and Powder — Crystals that Cleanse — Strengthening the Young Teeth — 
Tooth-Diet 169 

CHAPTER XL 
HOW TO ACQUIRE BODILY GRACE. 

Thought the Master-Builder — An Upright Bearing Promotes Strength and Grace — The 
Body a Priceless Jewel — A Shapely Chin — Well-Proportioned Neck — Breathing Exer- 
cises Beautify the Throat — Shapely Arms — The Slender Woman 's Exercises — How to 
Develop the Bust — Straightening Up — The Supple Waist of the Woman of Power — 
For a Prominent Abdomen — Your Magnetic "Aura" — Protect the Pelvis — How to 
Reduce Flesh— The Walk of Grace 183 

CHAPTER XII. 
INFLUENCE OF DRESS. 

Increasing Woman's Attractiveness — Freedom in Dress — Freaks and Tortures of Fash- 
ion — Corsets and Their Train of Woes — Combination Underwear — Some Comfortable 
Garments — What Colors to Choose — Kitchen Dress Hints — Afternoon "Freshen- 
ing" — Evening Dress — Wraps and Hats — Dress-Eules for Pregnancy — Imperative 
Reasons — Prepare Joy and Health for Your Child 196 

CHAPTER XIII. 
CHOOSING A MATE. 

The Creative Principle Supreme — Three Great Sex-Functions — Transformation Wrought 
by Puberty — The Sexes Mutually Supplementary — The Time for Higher Ideals — The 
Mutual Stimulus — The Perfect Blending of Qualities — Weil-Balanced Offspring — 
Scientific Mating the Key to Happy Love — It is Better to be Sure than Sorry — Seek 
Your Complement in Mating — Congeniality in Eace, Eeligion, etc. — Bring Out the 
Best in Your Mate — Love the Crown of Woman's Life — Bequeath Health to Your 
Children — "Marrying to Reform" — The Martyr-Husband — Hope in Domestic Sci- 
ence — Letter-W/iting, Conversation and Music — The Heritage of Integrity — Mar- 
riage of Relatives — The Reserve Power of Intuition. 211 

CHAPTER XIV. 
CUPID'S CONQUEST. 

Love the Very Heart of Poetry — "The Spirit and Spring of the Universe" — A Sweet 
Love-Poem — Magnetism versus Soul-Affection — Both Essential — Difference, not Dis- 
tance, Separates Souls — Decide When Alone — Testing by Separation — Tell the Love- 
Story O'er and O'er— "Congeniality" Desirable, but Not All — Courtship a Uni- 
versal Intuition — Safeguards of the Mating Period — Girls, Confide in Your Moth- 
ers! — Cultivating New Graces for the "Other's" Sake — A Sacredness that Banishes 
Early Follies — Marrying for Money an Insult to Nature — Dollars Not the Test — 
Know How to be Breadwinners — The Best Time to Marry — Arrival of the Day of 
All Days ,. ...... * 224 



18 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XV. 
THE HONEYMOON. 

The Honeymoon Spirit for Life — Go Away for the Wedding Holiday — The First Wedded 
Privacy — The Maiden Wife's Embarrassment — The Husband's Best Policy — Love's 
Greatest Privilege — How to Prolong the Early Delights — Allow No Criticisms by 
Outsiders — A Mathematical Eule — How to Avoid Discord — Mutual and Perpetual 
Givers 237 

CHAPTER XVI. 
WOMAN'S IDEAL OF MAN. 
The Law of Opposites — Blending of Strength and Beauty — Eeserve Power — Eesolute 
Character, with Deference — Absolute Sincerity — Never Depreciate Self or Others — 
Ardency and Eloquence — The Humility of Love — The Instinct to Hide Love — 
"Love's Pinfeathers Pricking" — Keticence of First Love — Tell Her Your Love — 
Love of Home Life — All Secondary; Love First — Purity Develops Men Who Com- 
mand Love 246 

CHAPTER XVII. 
WHAT MARRIAGE INVOLVES. 

The Hope of the Eace — The Foundation of Life — Artistic Weaving of Ideal into Com- 
monplace — Importance of Love-Courtesies — No Neglect for the Lonely One — Busi- 
ness Must Not Crowd Out Kisses — Gentle in Criticism; Lavish in Praise — Never 
Scold or Sneer — Exclude Meddlers and Critics — How One Couple Came to an Under- 
standing — No Striving to Eule — Love's Enthusiasm Supplies Lack of Training — 
Co-operation of Both in Home Problems — Eecreation Preserves Youth — The Italian 
Senator's Pungent Comments on Married Life — Love Begets Love — The Art of 
Putting Things — Taming the Male Animal — Establish a Home of Your Own — The 
Pedestal of Absolute Truthfulness — The Love that Grows — Wise Absences — Purity 
Love's Preservative — Growing Harmony for Love's Sake — Hope for All 252 

CHAPTER XVin. 
THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 

A Reverent Study of Life — Unfolding Principles — The Double Arch of Destiny — Great 
Strength of Pelvic Framework — Wise Precaution for Girls — Woman's Organs In- 
ternal — The Mons Veneris — Labia Majora and Minora — Clitoris — Vagina — Hymen — 
The Uterus — The Point of Physical and Nervous Energy — Strong Supporting Liga- 
ments — The Waving Cilia — Wonders of the Fallopian Tubes — The Ovaries, the Basis 
of Femininity — The Life-Germ — The Eipened Ovum Set Free — Glands of Nourish- 
ment — Home of the Male Life-Germs — Four Hundred Lobules — Lace-Work of the 
Seminal Tubes — Life and Force from the Blood — A Twenty-Foot Tube — A Duct 
Which Distributes Vigor to the Whole Body — Cylinders Which Transmit the New 
Life — Circumcision — The Freshest and Best Blood — The Sources of Strength and 
Virility — All Under Absolute Control of the Will — Man Not at the Mercy of His 
Passions — Eemedy Where Passions Exceed Will — A Splendidly Developed and Pre- 
served Virility 269 

CHAPTER XIX. 
SPECIAL WARNING TO THE BOY AND GIRL. 

Respect the Bodies God Has Given — Take Your Questions to "Mother" — Life's Origin 
and Its Beautiful Shelter — Why Children are Dearly Loved— The Reproductive Or- 
gans — Eight Care of Them Makes Men Strong and Women Beautiful — Saving Them 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1& 

for Maturity 's Joy and Blessing — Perverting Them Depletes Blood — Inflames Nerves 
— Promotes Stupidity and Destroys Healthy Play-Faculties — You Want tu Be 
Strong — Keep Away from Impure Companions — Keep Thoughts High — Tell Father 
or Mother — They Love You and Can Help You — The Conquest — You Become a 
Prince — The Girl's Treasure, Her Growing Womanhood — She Must Keep Herself 
Pure — What Is at Stake: Beautiful Home-Life; Husband's Affection; Darling 
Children of Her Own — The Sexual Organs Are Sacred — Controlling the Thoughts — 
The "Card Plan" for Boys or Girls — The " Friendly Witch" — Men and Women 
of Purity and Power 291 

CHAPTER XX. 
BECOMING A WOMAN; MENSTRUATION. 

Indicates Capability to Bear Children — The Time for Mother's Counsel — New Powers 
— The Brain Intensely Active — Mothers, Question Your Daughters — " Thought She 
Was to Be Changed into a Boy" — Menstruation Is Natural and Healthful — The 
Eipening of the Life-Germ — A Eeminder of Womanhood and Coming Power — Physi- 
cal Eeasons Against Immature Marriage — The Normal Flow Painless — Cold Cli- 
mates — Tropical Child-Brides — Menses at Five Months of Age! — A Ten- Year-Old 
Mother! — Symptoms of the First Menstruation — Avoid All Chilling — Believe from 
Excessive Strain — Correct Irregularities — No Menstruation During Pregnancy; 
Barely During Nursing — Thirty to Thirty-Five Years of Eipening — Preparing for 
the Eest-Period 300 

CHAPTER XXI. 
THE SEXUAL EMBRACE. 

To the Pure, Sex-Love is Not Degrading — Progressing Beyond the Alphabet — Wise 
Connubial Sex-Eelations a Eefining, Uplifting Power— Excess Fatal to Love — Im- 
paired Powers and Puny Children the Eesult — Examples of Animal Life — Not Only 
Desire, but Love is Eequired — In Moderation, Intercourse Gives Mutual Gain — 
Equalizes Male and Female Magnetism — Nature Gives Woman the Selection of 
Time — The Husband Must Continue to be the Lover — Motherhood a Sacred Shrine, 
Not to be Polluted — Tenderness of the Normal Man — Intercourse under Control of 
the Enlightened Will — Continence Means Brain-Power — Diet and Hygiene of Con- 
tinence — Love the Preserver of Purity — A Message of Hope to the Struggler — 
You Are Not ' ' Chained ' ' — Womanhood Appeals to Your Higher Nature — The Divine 
Within You — Your Gift of Manhood — The Psalm of Grace and Power — Mind-Pic- 
tures of Success — The ' ' Line of Least Resistance ' ' — The King Crowning His Queen.,309 

CHAPTER XXn. 
THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD; CONCEPTION. 

Starting Points of Life — Meeting with God to Form a Human Soul — Lifelong Impres- 
sions from One Moment — The Father's Influence First — His Life-Germs are Living 
Beings — Their Extreme Activity — "A Serpent Bit an Egg" — Fish and Oysters 
Artificially Multiplied — Double Impregnation — The Favorable Period — High Vigor 
Eequired for Child's Sake — Spring the Time for New Life — The "Second Honey- 
moon" — Training to Prepare for the Best Offspring — The Food, the Breathing, the 
Baths and the Dress — Two Children Contrasted — Pre-Natal Training Saves Much 
Time and Labor — A Splendidly Endowed Child — What to Cultivate; What to Re- 
strain — You Can Counteract Heredity — A Stronger Force — The Supreme Moment — 
Pray as Never Before — God's Image to be Produced 320 



20 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
LIMITATION OF OFFSPRING. 

Joy of Parenthood — Perversion of the Function — Unwelcome Children — Consider This 
Seriously — Over-Population Feared — Kecords of Norway and Switzerland — Limita- 
tion a Duty — One Preventive Check — Nursing No Preventive — Abortion is Criminal 
— Malformation Alone Justifies It — Limitation is Not Infanticide — Limitation De- 
stroys No Life — Mechanical Appliances Dangerous — Prof. Fowler's Objections — 
The Discovery of Limitation by Control — Objections Answered — Another Method — 
Love's Highest Plane — Striking Quotations — The Woman Who Cursed God — The 
Coming ' ' Diamond Age ' ' 335 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
THE MOTHER-ARTIST. (PRE-NATAL CULTURE.) 

An Endless, Widening Stream — The Ennobling Art — A Co-Laborer with the Divine — 
Intelligent Breeding of Animals — Shall Humanity be Left Behind? — Tenfold Harder 
by Deferring — Joyous Greeting for the Little One — "I Never Dreamed How Happy 
You Were!'' — "Lovin' 'em Eight Along from the Beginning" — No Limit to the 
Mother's Power — Hygiene and Beauty the Earliest — Surroundings of Greek Mothers 
— The Eeason for the Italian Madonna-Type — Two Sisters Contrasted — You Can 
Counteract a Eepulsive Sight — Implanting the Mental and Moral — Acquisition — 
Honesty — Sociability and Good Cheer — Literature — Your Child a Leader — Build Up 
the Soul! — The Father a Sympathetic Helper — Four Sons; All Planned For — Life a 
Wonderland of Treasures 343 

CHAPTER XXV. 
SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 

*' Rational" Signs — Rapid Pulse — "Morning Sickness" — Changes in the Breasts— 
"Quickening" — Globules in the Urine — "Sensible" Signs — Pulsation of the Foetal 
Heart — Growth of the Embryo — Villi — How Placenta Acts as Lungs and Digestive 
Organs — The Umbilical Cord — Various Interesting Stages of Growth — The Last 
Two Months— The Mother's Time to Perfect the Child— Valuable Table of Dates 
of Confinement — Conception While Nursing — Miscarriage — Promptness Can Avert 
It — Miscarriage More Painful Than Natural Delivery — Eequires Same Care as After 
Confinement — Guarding Against Tendency to Miscarry — Treatment After Once Mis- 
carrying — Four Theories of Determining Sex — No Satisfactory or Final Test — The 
1 ' Mental Dominance ' ' Idea 355 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
DISCOMFORTS OF PREGNANCY; HOW OVERCOME. 

Conception Should Bring Greater Health and Vigor — Errors Cause the Discomforts — 
Morning Nausea Indicates Nervous Sympathy — A Favorable Sign — Acidity of 
Stomach — Intestinal Indigestion — Sick Headaches — Hand Magnetism for Neuralgia 
— Tooth Troubles — The Abdominal Belt — The Elastic Stocking — Diarrhoea — Piles — 
Constipation — Tonic for Fainting — Simple Treatments for Insomnia — Abnormal Food 
Cravings — Breasts and Nipples — Bladder Symptoms — Leucorrhea — Lotion for Irri- 
tation — Differences Between False and True Labor Pains — The Husband's Duty and 
Privilege — Innocent Conspiracies — Start Pleasant Trains of Thought — Few of These 
Discomforts for Any One Woman — Determines for Herself — The Gates of Woman's 
Paradise 375 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 21 

CHAPTEE XXVII. 
CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 

A Holy Desire — God Never Cursed Motherhood — Pain in Childbirth Unnatural — Indiana 
Bear Children Easily — The Husband's Tenderness Called For — Continence Abso- 
lutely Healthful — A Midwife at Seventeen — Animals Bringing Forth Their Young — 
Heavy Eating Brings Heavy Children — Incidents and Experiences — Forty-Five 
Years in Helping Women — No Case Lost — Relaxation Better than Stupefaction — 
Where Childbirth Restores Health — Irish Confinements Easy — The Pregnant Wo- 
man's Food — Preparing the Bed — "The Show" — Preparations — Breathing — Per- 
spiration — Diet During Labor — Caring for the Newcomer — Delivery of the Placenta 
— Quiet for the Chamber — Gentle Care for the Mother 391 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
CARE OF INFANTS. 

The Loving Mother's Questions — Their Poetic Answer — "How Much For Baby?" — 
Once, Preparation; Now, Realization — Harmonious Laws for Training — The Moth- 
er's Milk the Best Food — The "'Hungry Ball" — Interpreting the Cries — Soothing 
by Massage — That Chicago Baby — One Child Who Had a Fair Start — Baby Not to 
Be Made a Mummy — The "Gretchen" and "Gertrude" Suits — Simplicity and Free- 
dom in Clothing — A Clean Baby — Shortening Clothes — Everything Changed at Night 
— Clothing for Out-Door Wear — Baby's Joy in the Bath — His Travels Begin Early — 
Baby a "Kicker" — Soon a Trotter — Restful Sleep — The Sleeping Face a Guide to 
Health — Four Great Essentials 411 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
NURSING. 

Sleep for the Newcomer — Rest for the Mother — The Colostrum Needed by the Babe- 
Child to Nurse After Sleeping — Treatment for Sore Mouth of Mother — Thrush — 
Refusal to Nurse — Cabbage Leaves for the Breasts — Glass Shields a Relief — Re- 
tracted Nipples — Gathered Breast — Nursing by Rule — The Mother's Food and 
Clothing — Stimulants Cause Disease and Impurity — When It Is Poisonous to Nurse 
— Everybody to Help Mother and Baby 427 

CHAPTER XXX. 
WEANING. 

Care Requisite — Slum District Vagaries — The Proper Time — Renewed Menses Demand 
Weaning — Ninth Month the Usual Time — Weaning Should Be Gradual — Do Not 
Overload the Child's Stomach — Process of Weaning — Use of Aloes — Dispersion of 
the Milk — Injurious to Nurse While Pregnant — When a Wet Nurse is Required- 
Prepared Foods — Use Two Bottles — A Good Dietary for Infants — Both Milk and 
Water Required 435 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
TEETHING. 

Mortality of the Innocents — Stomach Trouble, the Great Destroyer — The Cry of the 
Builders — A Teething Powder of Value — Symptoms of Teething — Teeth Which De- 
cay — Teething the Critical Period — Other Changes Under Way — Teething a Natural 
Process — Soothing Syrups and Cordials — Opiates Slaughter the Babies — A Prepara- 
tion Which is Both Food and Medicine — Experiences of Wide Interest — Great Va- 
riety of Cases — Something for Mothers to Read , 445 

2 V. 



g2 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXXTT. 
EDUCATION IN THE FAMILY— FROEBEL. 

Mothers Must be Educated, for They Must Educate — "Come, Let Us Live for Om 
Children" — Women the Natural Educators — The Keynote of Woman's Destiny — 
An Agitation that Affects Millions of Men — Education in the Early Years — Moth- 
ers Should be Equipped — The All-Sided Kinship — Eecognition of the Inner Law 
of Divine Unity — Tie Means of Development at Hand — Help is In and Through 
Ourselves — The Child's Food Influences Character — Appetites Based on Over-Stim- 
ulation— Froeb el's "Graded Gifts" — The Gentle Unfoldment — Tribute to the Mas- 
ter-Educator — A Glance at Swiss Education — A Progressive Country — Pestalozzi's 
Work at the Author's Birthplace — The Fame of Yverdon — Froebel a Visitor — 
Bringing the Pupils Close to Nature — The Pigeon's Nest in the Schoolroom — 
Marching with the Flag — Effect upon National Character 451 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 

Teach Sacredness of the Body — Knowledge Not a Crime — Grave Eisks in Ignorant 
Marriage — Teach the Children — A Training that is Needed — Shall Their Training 
be Pure or Vile? — Answer Their Questions — Implant High Ideals — The Mother the 
Guardian of Childhood — A Fatal Delay — Do Not Let the Weeds Grow — Every Home 
an Institution for Treating Undeveloped Children — Parents Should Prepare Before 
and After the Birth of the Child — Mildness, Firmness, but not Haste in Governing — 
Speak Gently — Interpose New Interests — Appeal to the Heart — The Quickest Way — 
Children are Psychological — Be What You Teach — Study Their Motives — Hold 
Their Sweet Confidence — Knowledge is Safety — Teach Beautiful Truths — One Moth- 
er's Experience — Keeping a Mother "at Bay" — Bedtime Confidences — "Mother, 
How Can I Keep Bad Thoughts Out?"— "Turn Out the Sparrows "—" Mothers 
Help a Lot" 461 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 

One of Nature's Requirements — Time of Coming — Little Disturbance in the Healthy — 
Symptoms Vary — Duration of Process of Change — A New Phase of Life — New 
Hopes and Aspirations — Treatment of Various Phases — Prolong the Menses — Use 
of Syringe — Physical Changes in Men — Decline of Sexual Passions — Sometimes an 
Abnormal Inc^ase — Wrong of Discrepancy of Years in Marriage — Upbuild the Sys- 
tem — Beautiful at Fifty as at Fifteen — Your Thoughts Govern — Decay Not Inevi- 
table — "The Impertinence of Dense Ignorance" — Refinement and Improvement the 
Order of Nature — The Silent Demand Brings Supply — The Evolution of Mind- 
Power — Thoughts Give Expression to Face and Form — A False Alarm May Paralyze 
-—How to Bring Dyspepsia — Defy the Age — Thoughts — Attracting Health — Mira- 
cles of the Present 469 

CHAPTER XXXV. 
INFLUENCE OF WOMAN IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 

w Woman is Liberty; and Liberty is Woman" — Virtue Better than Commercialism — 
Home-Lovers and Home-Builders — Entertaining Class in "Domestic Economy" — 
Woman's Strong Personality a Factor in History of Nations — Two Types — The Time 
for the Larger Work — "Mothers in Israel" — The Outreaching Motherhood Spirit — 
The Up-to-Date Grandmothers — Women in the Broader Work — Police Matrons — 
Probation Officers — Tenement Inspectors — Managers of State Institutions — Social 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 23 

Settlements — Visiting Nurses — The Strain that Breaks Down — Art Work — Horti- 
culture — Music — Drama — Literature — $5,000 a Year — Advertising Solicitors — Report- 
ers — Text-Books — Home Interests Not Neglected — Teaching — Pulpit — Law — Medi- 
cine — Politics — Trade Unions — Powerful, Yet Womanly — The Ideal Teacher and 
the Ideal Mother — ''Saint Courageous'' — Expecting the Best — "I Should Blame 
Less and Praise More" — The Little Figure of Pathos — Keeping the Heart-Way 
Open 481 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 
DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

Health the Prereqivate for Woman's Best Work — In Full Possession of Her Powers — 
Then the Ballot Will Gravitate to Her — Where Health and Woman's Political 
Power Combine — Home Treatment for Many Troubles — "The Will to be Well" — 
Health ajjd Joy to Replace Suffering — Disease Tends to Recovery — Falling of the 
Womb-"-Other Displacements — Influence of Thought — Inflammation and Congestion 
of the Uterus — Tumors, Polypus and Cancer of the Womb — Ulceration — Painful 
Menstruation — Suppression, Delay, Profuseness, etc. — Miscarriage — Leucorrhoea — 
Gathered Breast 489 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 
PERITONITIS. (PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF THE AUTHOR.) 

My Own Experience — Curing this Desperate Case — A Knowledge which Saved Life- 
Results of Exposure — A Case Considered Fatal — A Poultice of Comfort — Nurse's 
Neglect Brings Relapse — It Meant Death — Relief Once More — Again the Neglect — 
The Dying Woman's Demand — The Struggle Back to Health — Eight Weeks With- 
out Bowel Movement! — Eternal Vigilance the Price of Health — Value of Electro- 
Homeopathy 500 

CHAPTER XXXVIH. 
SKIN DISEASES. 

Borne Slight, Some Obstinate — Some Yield to Home Treatment — Some Require a Physi- 
cian's Care — Boils and Their Treatment — Suppuration — Poultices — Opening Boils 
— Dressing Boils — Diet — Baths — Ulcers — Chronic Ulcers — Milk Crust — Nettle Rash 
— Itch or Scabies — Sulphur Treatment 504 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 
INFANTS' AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 

General Instructions — Overalls for Children — The Sand-Heap — Lunch Between Meals— 
Fruit and Jam— Vegetables — Milk the Stand-by — Ailments — Cankered Sore Mouth 
— Cholera Infantum — Whooping Cough — Convulsions, Fits or Spasms — Croup — Diph- 
theria — Scarlet Fever — Mumps — Earache — Ear-Discharges — Colic — Constipation — Di- 
arrhoea — Worms — Chicken Pox — Measles 510 

CHAPTER XL. 
NERVOUS TROUBLES; THE POWER OF MIND. 

Usually Affect or Spring from the Mentality — Sympathetic Nervous System — Controls 
All Vital Processes — "The Silent Schoolmaster" — Treat the Solar Plexus — Bodily 
Changes Arising from Emotions — "They are Able Because They Think They are 
Able" — Close Relation of Brain to Nervous System — Instance of the Power of 
Suggestion — Dressing in Black a Mistake — Put Brightness in Your Clothing — Dan- 



24 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

ger in Frightening Children — Help Your Child by Being Cheerful — Nervous Diseases 
to be Treated both Mentally and Physically — Neuralgia — Nervous Debility — Sleep- 
lessness^ — Nervousness — Hysteria — Hypochondria — Chorea, or St. Vitus' Dance — 
Nervousness from Teething — List of Special Eemedies — Pregnancy — Overstudy — 
The Temples We Are Building — Broad Field of the Mind's Work — The Art of 
Teaching — Genius Knows No Eules — Work by Yourself First; then Go to a Teacher.. 525 

CHAPTER XU. 
FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 

Symptoms of Fevers — Classification — Eruptive Fevers — Typhoid — When It is Epidemic 
•—Purgatives Dangerous — Fever a Warfare to Expel an Invader — Successful Treat- 
ment Derived from Experience — Where to Place the Patient — The Hot Bath — Per- 
fect Quiet — The Eruption — Guard Against Taking Cold — Convalescence and Its 
Dangers — Lung Complications — Dress Warmly on Eecovery — Pure Air the Best Ap- 
petizer—Caution in Eating — Preserving the Hair — Massage Parts that are Weak or 
Inactiv'e — Drink Water — Bathe — Rub with Olive Oil — Diet — Constipation — Scarlet 
Fever, Diphtheria, and Measles — The Gargle — Intermittent Fever — Small-pox — 
Chicken-pox — Diarrhoea — Ague and Malarial Fever — La Grippe — Asiatic Cholera — 
Successful and Energetic Work for Two — Quick, Self -Possessed and Fearless Attend- 
ants — Preventive Treatment — Predisposing Causes of Cholera 533 

CHAPTER XLTL 
GENERAL DISEASES. 

3t Running Their Course" — The More Modern Way — Treatment of Many Ailments — 
Bright 's Disease — Bronchitis — Catarrh — Cholera — Constipation — Consumption — Cor- 
pulency — Coughs — Diabetes — Diarrhoea — Dropsy — Epilepsy — Erysipelas — Menin- 
gitis — Liver Trouble — Pneumonia — Rheumatism — Softening of the Brain, and Many 
Other Diseases 544 

CHAPTER XLIII. 
ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 

Be Prepared Beforehand — Quick and Effective Action — Bruises — Splinters — Cuts — Lac- 
erations — Profuse Bleeding — Nail Wounds in Foot — Lockjaw — Nosebleed — Stings- 
Bites from Serpents — Bites from Mad Dogs — Poison Ivy 2 etc.— Sprains — Broken 
Bones — Cramps — Poisoning — Chill from Dampness — Freezing — Restoring the 
Drowned — Falling into the Water — Choking — Swallowing Pins, etc. — Foreign Bodies 
in Eye or Ear — Stunned from a Fall — Escape from Fire — Clothing on Fire — Burns — 
Scalds — Powder Burns 572 

CHAPTER XLTV. 
HYGIENE IN THE HOME. 

Home, the Woman's Pride — "Planning to Neglect" — Keeping Work Within Strength — 
Order is a Time-Saver — Look After Cellars — Beware of the Drains! — Woman's Un- 
ending War Against Filth — Stoves Exhaust Oxygen as Fast as Twelve Men Do — 
Absorbents in Sleeping Eooms — Individual Beds — Preserve Your Nerve Force — 
Lengthen Your Honeymoon — Banish the Musty Odors — The Sick Room in Contagious 
Diseases — Isolation Necessary — Three Disinfectants — How to Fumigate — Non-Con- 
tagious Sickness — Watch the Water Supply — "Boil It" — Planning the Meals 585 



LIST OF ETCHINGS. 



Sympathetic Ganglia and Nerves 40 

Nerve Cells 41 

Convolutions of the Brain 42 

Course of Nerve Fibers in Brain 43 

Love in its Anatomical Connections. 44 

Phrenological Chart 45 

Head of Spinal Cord 46 

Base of Brain 51 

Outline of Male and Female Form. . . 56 

Psyche 64 

Internal Structure of Female Breast 65 

The Goddess Una 66 

The Three Graces 67 

The Stomach, Intestines and Gall 

Bladder 90 

The Heart and Lungs 124 

The Hand and Principal Lines 160 

Female Pelvis ; The Brim 270 

Female Pelvis ; The Outlet 270 

Deformed Pelvis 271 

Deformed Pelvis 271 

Deformed Pelvis 272 

Deformed Pelvis 272 

Female Pelvis, Lateral Section 273 

Internal Organs of Generation of 

Female 274 

The Uterus ; Three Views 275 

Arteries of the Uterus 277 

Nerves of the Uterus 278 

Floor of the Female Pelvis 282 

Position of Viscera in Female Pelvis.284 
Male Testis and Epididymis 286 



Structure of the Testes and Ducts . . 28* 

Base of Bladder 288 

The Muscles of the Thighs .289 

Spermatozoa 322 

Spermatozoa (Quickened) 323 

Ovum, Blighted 324 

Ovum, Chorion . . . . , 324 

Ovum, Change in Chorion 325 

Ovum, Forming the Placenta 326 

Systematic Circulation 328 

Vesicle in Ovum, Five Weeks .356 

Vesicle in Ovum, Seven Weeks 356 

Deciduous Membrane, Ovum Face 357 

Deciduous Membrane, Uterus Face. . .357 

Deciduous Membrane, Double 358 

The Placenta, Foetal Face 359 

The Placenta, Uterine Face 360 

Battledore Placenta 361 

Twin Placentas 362 

Ovum, Membranes Enveloping Foetus.363 

Uterus at Fifth Month 364 

Ovum in Uterus, Five Months 367 

Foetus in Uterus, Eeady for Labor. .368 

Os Uteri, Third Month 400 

Os Uteri, Sixth Month 400 

Os Uteri, Ninth Month 401 

Gravid Uterus, Full Period 402 

Uterus and Pelvic Cavity, Side View. 403 
Uterus in Labor, Well Advanced. . . .404 
Uterus in Labor, Further Advanced. .405 
The Vital System , . .406 



GLOSSARY. 



Abrasions Injuries where the skin is rubbed or scraped away. 

Acarii Parasitic insects causing the skin disease known as itch. 

Aliantoise Membrane connecting the foetus and chorion. 

Anemia , Deficiency of blood. 

Angina Pectoris Neuralgia of the heart. 

Anteflexion Tipped backward. 

Anteversion Tipped forward. 

Aperient Mildly cathartic. 

Aqueous Pertaining to, or containing water. 

Areola The colored circle about the nipple. 

Articular Pertaining to the joints. 

Astringent Binding. 

Biliary Bilious, or pertaining to the bile. 

Calculi Hard deposits, resembling pebbles. 

Cathartic Laxative. 

Cerate A medical compound of oily and waxy substances. 

Cervix The neck of the womb. 

Chordee Downward inclination of the penis during erection, occurring dur 

ing gonorrhea. 

Chorion The external foetal membrane. 

Coition Sexual intercourse. 

Copulation Sexual intercourse. 

Congestion Overcrowded blood-vessels. 

Coryza Nasal catarrh. 

Dermoid Skinlike; pertaining to the skin. 

Diaphoretic Producing perspiration. 

Diaphragm Parietal muscle between chest and abdomen. 

Diphtheria Malignant disease of the throat. 

Emaciation State of being redueed to leanness. 

Embryo ^gg> 

Emmenagogues Medicines to stimulate the menstrual flow. 

Enema Injection. 

En3iform Cartilage in front; soft part of sternum. 

Epidermis The cuticle, or outer skin. 

Epididymus The convoluted tube in the testis opening into the vas deferens. 

Fallopian Tubes Oviducts. 

Faeces Discharge from the bowels. 

Fauces The parts bordering on the opening between the back of the mouth 

and the pharynx. 

28 



GLOSSAEY. » 



Febrile Feverish. 

Fimbriated Finger-like. 

Flatulence, or ) Accumulation of gas in the stomach and bowels. 



Flatulency 

Flexions Bending; in parturition, the inclining forward of the foetal head. 

Foetal Pertaining to foetus. 

Foetus Child in the womb. 

Follicles Minute cavities, sacs, or tubes. 

Fomentation Hot applications to the body. 

Fontanel The soft part in an infant 's head, where the bone is not yet formed. 

Fundus That part of a hollow organ the farthest from the entrance. 

Gestation Act of carrying a foetus in the uterus; pregnancy. 

Gonorrhea A contagious inflammation of the mucous membrane of the urethra 

or vagina. 

Graafian Follicle Ovarian cavity containing egg. 

Hemorrhoids Piles — Tumors in and about the anus. 

Hygiene The art of preserving health. 

Incubation The period between the time of exposure to an infectious disease 

and its development; also the period of gestation. 

Inguinal Abdominal; in the region of the groin. 

Intra-Uterine Within the womb. 

Labia Lips of the vagina. 

Lancinating Sharp, sudden, shooting, lacerating. 

Laxative Cathartic. 

Lobules Minute bundles of cells, blood vessels and ducts. 

Mammary Pertaining to the breasts. 

Massage Kubbing and kneading the body. 

Menstruation Monthly flow from the womb. 

Nates The buttocks. 

Nidus Nest. 

Nodosities Knotty protuberances. 

Obstetrics The branch of medical science connected with the treatment and 

care of women during pregnancy and parturition. 

Oedema Dropsical swelling or puffiness. 

Os-Internum-Uteri The interior of the mouth of the womb. 

Os-Uteri The mouth of the womb. 

Osseous Bony. 

Ova Eggs. Plural of egg. 

Ovary Generative organ in which the ova are developed. 

Oviducts Fallopian Tubes; passage for the ovum from the ovary to the 

womb. 

Ovulation Laying of the egg. 

Ovum An egg. 

Papillae The nipples; or the minute, nipple-shaped protuberances of the 

skin, tongue, etc. 

Parturition Childbirth. 

Pelvis Lower part of the abdomen. 

Perineum The part between the genital organs and the rectum. 

Peristaltic Worm-like movements of bowels. 



30 GLOSSARY. 

Peritoneum The membrane lining of the walls and covering the organs in the 

abdomen. 

Pessaries Instruments or objects worn in the vagina to remedy a uterine 

displacement; of various forms and materials. 

Placenta The part supplying nourishment to the foetus; the after-birth. 

Polypus A tumor arising from the mucous membrane of the womb and pro- 
jecting into the cavity. 

Pre-natal Before birth. 

Prolapsus Uteri Falling of the womb. 

Pulmonary Pertaining to the lungs. 

Pustular Proceeding from, or marked by, pustules. 

Pustule An elevation of the skin resembling a pimple or a blister. 

Baehitic Affected with rickets; weak- jointed. 

Eectuia »• Lower portion of the bowel. 

Eete Mucosum The deeper part of the epidermis near the papillae. 

Eete Testis The network of seminal tubes in the testis. 

Retroflexion Bending backward. 

Eetroversion Falling backward. 

Sanguineous Bloody. 

Sequelae Morbid conditions occurring as a result of a preceding disease. 

Sternum The breastbone. 

Syphilis An infectious venereal disease, contracted directly or by heredity. 

TJmbilicum, or Umbilicus The navel. 

Urethra The duct by which urine is discharged from the bladder. 

Urinary Pertaining to urine. 

Uterine Pertaining to the womb. 

Uterus The womb. 

Vagina Passage leading to the womb. 

Varicose Veins Veins permanently dilated with blood. 

Vasa Efferentia The ducts at the top and rear of the testis. 

Vasa Eecta The straight portion of the seminal tubes in the testis. 

Vas Deferens The large duct conveying the seminal fluid from the testis. 

Venery Sexual indulgence^ especially when excessive. 

Vertigo Dizziness. 

Vesicles Small, bladder-like cavities. 

Vesicular Pertaining to, or composed of, vesicles. 

Viscera The organs in the abdominal cavity. 

Vnlva The external opening of the female genital organs. 



INTRODUCTION. 



BT 
A. B. HEATH. 



" Finds progress, man's distinctive mark alone. 
Not God's, and not the beast's; 
God is, they are, 
Man partly is, and wholly hopes to be." 

—Robert Browning. 

HISTOEY may be remorseless. She may write with iron finger 
the lesson of "the survival of the fittest"; she may proclaim 
in harsh tones that "the weakest mnst go to the wall." 

And yet, when we look through the ages, we shall find that History 
herself is but the exponent of Progress, and that Progress means ever 
"the greatest good to the greatest number." If some "go to the wall," 
if some cannot "survive," it is only the expression of that larger truth 
which replaces weakness with strength and sings the anthem of Prog- 
ress, forever. 

Comparing, therefore, the beginnings of time with our twentieth 
century, we see the brighter light, the evolution of strength, the proph- 
ecy of good. 

This book is multiform Progress. It speaks to the ambition. It 
tells of hope and achievement. It lifts the reader to the uplands, and 
lo ! he sees visions of personal power, and even legions of angels upon 
the mountain side! To him shall come, as he reads these pages, the 
higher self-respect, the consciousness of the larger and stronger life. 
That is the mission of this work. 

Woman comes to a time in life when she yearns for a broader work. 

31 



32 INTRODUCTION. 

With her children grown up and away, she comes to feel the instinct 
of motherhood extended, the impulse of protective love. And so, witih 
this inspiration, and bearing the spirit of Progress within her, she has 
enlarged her field, and now in her wise and strong ministrations she 
touches humanity at a thousand points, and every contact is a blessing. 

Impelled by this spirit our author has put forth these pages. They 
are such as naturally come from the mother-heart, such as womanhood 
is fitted to present, such as a wise and kind physician can offer to en- 
able men and women to help themselves to a sweeter, more beautiful 
and stronger life-force. 

Here may be found the response to that yearning for beauty and 
strength which is innate in every human being. All shun and deplore 
the imperfect. All long for perfection in strength and beauty. How 
we shrink from the thought of wrinkles or decay! And yet we have 
been told for generations that it was in the order of nature for us to 
grow old, wrinkled, unattractive, feeble and weak in body and mind. 
We have been told and have believed that the mind had no power to 
repair and recuperate the body so as to bring newness and freshness. 

But here are twentieth century truths which show the glad fact 
that the order of nature is the order of evolution, ever growing finer, 
stronger, more forceful. The planet was once a molten mass, and then 
a coarse and crude desert. All life was once coarser, but is now finer. 
We accept the suggestion, then, that life and power grow— and grow 
finer. Refined steel is not only smoother, but stronger than crude iron. 
Why must we inevitably wither and decay and lose the best that life 
is worth living for, just as we have learned to live ? 

Our author has forcible thoughts on these subjects. She reminds 
us of the existence of " thought-force ' ' as an active power of nature. 
She makes it plain that many of the forward steps in our civilization 
have come directly in answer to the needs and longings of God's chil- 
dren. Millions yearned in silence for faster travel, and for quicker 
news service. The answer was the steam engine and the electric tele- 
graph. We do not need to plan ahead for our becoming old and de- 



INTRODUCTION. 33 

crepit, but if we do so plan, we shall hypnotize ourselves, and all the 
old-age thoughts in the universe will gravitate to us, and grave them- 
selves in our joints, our muscles and our faces. It is time for us to 
reverse our thinking. Let us send forth the demand for health, 
strength, mature vigor, and the lines of beauty which mind can and 
does write upon face and form. Our author shows us the reality of 
this process, its hopefulness and its beneficent results. She sets forth 
the exact ways to combine healthful thoughts with some of nature's 
kindest remedial gifts, so as to bring to us beauty, grace, attractiveness, 
strength and magnetic force. 

Then there are the sublime truths of sex-life. These are so inter- 
woven with our existence at every point that we have a thousand ad- 
monitions that they must be studied and understood, and their bless- 
ings brought into our lives. It is truly a boon to have them explained 
with such plainness, such reverence, such loving desire for our best 
good, and withal by such convincing wisdom and capacity that we feel 
that we are in the presence of a friend indeed. No longer dare we 
despise these most marvellous revelations of the divine wisdom. Our 
thoughts are uplifted, and we feel just as did the one who declared 
"the undevout astronomer is mad!" 

Wonderful life-lessons are here ! The counsels to the young are full 
of power, and will linger long in the memory. The advice to mothers 
and fathers on how to save their children from innocently falling into 
sad habits must command our earnest respect. The padlock must be 
removed from the lips. Parents dare no longer preserve silence when 
their darlings may be drifting over the precipice. They are to speak, 
speak freely, speak in time. And after all, the truths are so beautiful, 
so sublime, and tend to such feelings of reverence for the divine order, 
that the act of speaking to the little ones becomes itself a sacrament. 

Not only so, but these confidences check the tendency of childhood 
to drift away from us. Who has not seen the change? What mother's 
heart but has been sore when her child ceases to confide in her, holds 
her "at bay," and she sees that there are chambers in her darling's 



34 INTRODUCTION. 

mind that are closed and locked against her. The child has been mis- 
informed by associates. He dreams that he knows that of which she 
is ignorant. He dares not tell her that which he has heard. Against 
his will he puts up the barrier, and often his own heart aches at the 
mystery which has arisen to close the old bedtime confidences, and put 
impurity in their place. 

This need not be. It has come because the parents have delayed too 
long, and have let the child seek other sources for the knowledge 
which is best received from the parents' lips. So our author gives us 
kindly pressure as to promptness in performing this duty, and wise 
hints as to methods of meeting the natural and innocent curiosity of 
the little ones. Thus we may keep them pure, save from error and 
disease and retain their priceless confidence. 

Woman, with her delicacy of organization, and especially with her 
long fixed thought-habits and mistaken methods of attiring herself, has 
fallen a victim to legions of troubles peculiar to her sex. These need 
not be— ought not to be— as our author clearly shows. From her very 
childhood she has been woman's friend in need. And now, after a gen- 
eration of helpfulness for women, she has willingly put in this form 
the truths that have proved highly valuable to thousands. 

The information in this book is priceless. It will enable woman to 
bring great relief and glad development into her own being, so that 
her life shall be attuned to songs of gratitude and praise. People can 
work wonderful cures for themselves and pass on these words of heal- 
ing to their friends. The author traces (especially with nervous trou- 
bles) the causes of disease back to false mental habits; and a part of 
her remedies consist of mental treatments that brace and invigorate. 

The author cherishes the history of the growth of modern healing 
principles. There was once the day of harsh purgatives, physic, blood- 
letting, and the ever-ready surgeon's knife. But science has gradually 
disclosed the milder, yet more effective way. To trace this growth 
would tax the pen of an expert. The author in all modesty disclaims 
literary skill, but does insist that she stands for truths in science 



INTRODUCTION. 35 

which have been attested by a most marvellous record of blessing for 
humanity ; and also that in her hands this system of using the milder, 
kinder and more spiritual forces, so to speak, has been a system of 
continuous success. 

Who, then, should offer these beneficent truths to the world, if not 
one who has proved their efficacy by thousands of bedsides? Her 
wide and indiscriminate practice of more than twenty-five years has 
had a remarkable outcome. No death certificate bears her name as 
original practitioner in all that generation of time ! 

She has used the mild powers which cure. She has studied to put 
hope into the patient's thought, and what is of almost equal importance, 
into the thought of those who surround the patient. She has traced 
disease to cause, and treated cause. She has remembered to treat 
mind, because mind is at the source of life. She has praised Nature 
and given full honor to Nature's own tendencies towards recovery, and 
she has come to every case with the strong, uplifting, soul-cheering 
confidence of success! It is the spirit of mastery. She has put her 
strong, wise finger upon the place where Nature is striving to restore 
and to revive, and she has added just the mild yet potent agencies 
which have reinforced Nature and made the victory complete. 

In this book the author has placed the ripened and most modern 
fruit of her experience before the public. In plain words for plain 
people she has set forth the very heart-secrets of Nature. No family, 
no mother nor father, no wife nor husband, no youth nor maiden need 
fail to understand and profit by her instructions. All is made clear. 
Details are given. Principles of cure are set forth. The exact treat- 
ment is laid bare. Names of remedies are given. Symptoms, treat- 
ments, doses, surroundings, convalescence, all are told in words strong 
with the directness of truth and good will. Where literary finish was 
required, it was provided ; where illustrations would throw light, they 
appear; where business ability and experience were needed to bring 
these truths quickly before great masses of people, it has been sup- 
plied. The truth is supreme ! Eoom for the truth ! 



36 INTRODUCTION. 

It did not meet the author's ideals nor satisfy her strong yearnings 
for the spread of truth to tell this story calmly and in the academic 
spirit. These things are the highest exemplifications of the dramatic. 
They touch the deepest springs of human life. They deal with the 
destinies, not only of those now living, but of those unborn, and their 
progeny after them for ages. Back from the very jaws of the grave 
she has come and now, with magnificent vigor and health that chal- 
lenges comparison, she stirs our souls by the recital of these experi- 
ences. We say as we read these revelations, "Here, indeed, is one wo- 
man who has learned how to live!" Her readers will grasp eagerly 
for the rich lesson, and the priceless gift it bears to humanity. With a 
fervor peculiar to one who is mastered by a mighty truth, these scenes 
and pen-pictures are laid before the reader, and they may well be 
called "drama in prose." 

These truths penetrate to the centers of life. They are food for 
the soul-hungry. They are balm for the wounded in life's journey. 
They meet human needs as no other book on similar lines has done. 
We find here provision for emergencies and times of crisis which come 
into every home. More than this, we are led into the archways of Na- 
ture 's beautiful truths, and we are entranced by the lessons which up- 
lift. But more even than this, before us and our dear ones are opened 
higher conceptions of life, the chains of self-depreciation are stricken 
off, we become possessed by nobler ideals, and we see the prophecy of 
a sweet and soul-satisfying success. 

And so this work means an advance step for humanity. It spells 
progress for every home it reaches. It means wise and happy parents, 
strong and noble children, welcomed, planned for, with their highest 
qualities developed ; and it means that they in turn will plan for their 
offspring on wise and broad lines ; and as this shall go on and on, in 
ever widening circles, the author's ideal will come true, and there will 
be Progress for Humanity and Its Progeny. 




THE STORM 



-P. A. Cot 



The storm is coming, it is now upon 
Let us hasten, let us flee. 

Let us quickly find some shelter 
I will thy protector be. 



us, 




ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE -Robert Beyschlag 

The unfortunate Orpheus could not resist one look at his beloved Eurydice. That 
look cost him her final loss. 



CHAPTER I. 

LIFE-CENTERS. 

\ Fascinating Search— Knowledge that Makes Pure— The Four Power-Houses — Little Cells 
that Are Specialists — "Wrinkles" in the Brain — Woman's Lofty Brain-Development 
— Amusing Anti-Climax of the Philosopher — Why Woman Has "Intuitions" — Causes 
of Insomnia — How to Have a Vigorous Brain— It Is Wise to "Change Your Mind" — 
Getting Bid of "The Blues" — The Seat of Magnetic Power— Chasing Away the 
Burglar-Thoughts— The Greatest Nerve-Center — Why Woman Is Elastic — Must Mate 
to Be Complete — The Temperaments to Select From — People Who Mature Early— 
Large-Jointed Folks — The Red-Faced — Sleepy People — Not Slaves of Fate. 

f rjT\ IS a wonderful plant in its varied growth and bloom— this flower 
JL that we call human life ! To find its roots, that we may under- 
stand its deeper mysteries, and how one life influences another— ah, 
what a task! It is a more audacious wresting of nature's secrets than 
Edison has yet attempted; a more fascinating search than that for 
"the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, " or the fountain of eternal 
youth, for in a sense it includes both. It discloses treasures more val- 
ued than any hidden by pirate or delved for by miner. It is a search 
worthy alike of the sage philosopher, the earnest young student, the 
conscientious mother and the little child; and of these, perhaps, the 
little child is wisest, because nearest to nature's heart in its innocent, 
eager, and too often baffled curiosity. 

KNOWLEDGE A SAFEGUARD. 

A common error is that of confusing ignorance with innocence, 
while in fact, the two are wholly different in their nature and results. 
Ignorance is not the true heritage of any human being. The knowledge 
3 v. 39 



40 



LIFE-CENTEBS. 



&r*x<* 



iniutt 



Inferior 



that satisfies, uplifts and protects should be given to all. It is harmful 
beyond measure to make a dark, forbidding secret of what all should 
learn, or to carelessly leave young people to acquire false and base 

.views of God's beautiful work. 
If "the proper study of man- 
kind is man," then the youth- 
ful questioner's "How?" and 
"Why?" should be answered; 
and to answer wisely and well, 
£t3 the world itself must seek 

knowledge, and learn so to use 
p&«a and impart it as to further a 
and** ruzu pure and reverent self -devel- 
opment. 

Though man is more than 
physical, yet in finding the 
centers of a human life, we are 
led first along the highway of 
the great sympathetic nervous 
system, which, whether we 
■»»«»■■ wake or sleep, continuously 
performs its marvelous func- 
tions of controlling nutrition, 
respiration, the circulation of 
»■** J * , " M the blood, and all the various 
vital processes. In this we 
find four great power-houses, 
so to speak ; points from which 
vitality is sent forth in all di- 

SYMPATHETIC GANGLIA AND NERVES. rections. 

THE BRAIN— MALE AND FEMALE. 

The first great center, the brain, has been well called the guardian 
and at the same time the servant of the mind; and through the mind 




GMajlin* 



LIFE-CENTERS. 



41 



the functions of every part of the body may be affected. The nerve- 
cells of the brain are specialists in their business ; that is, they are so 
arranged that each group of cells controls its own peculiar work 
whether mental or physical, doing that specific thing and nothing else. 
Thus, some cells enable us to think, others to speak, still others to move 
our hands; some cause us to enjoy a beautiful landscape, others help 
to plan a battle; and so on 
through the whole list of 
mental and physical acts, 
sensations and emotions. 

These brain cells, like all 
other parts of the body, 
must be fed; hence certain 
nerves stimulate each cell to 
select from the blood-sup- 
ply exactly the elements 
suited to its own peculiar 
need. Other nerves act as 
messengers from the cells to 
different parts of the body. nerve cells oe neeve centees. 

Now, it must be remembered that each group of nerve-cells not only 
differs in its work from the neighboring groups in the same brain, but 
that the corresponding groups in different brains also vary in size. 
Thus we have not only the different faculties in one individual, but 
the varying temperaments in society as a whole. 

When we come to consider the brain, therefore, with its wonderful 
wrinkled folds or convolutions of gray nerve-cells nourished by the 
blood and constantly originating force, impulse and ideas, and with 
the white nerve fibers acting as messengers to transmit them, we see 
why this organ is so powerful a life-center. One fact of especial inter- 
est is that certain striking differences exist between the brain of the 
male and that of the female. We see this in the shape of the skull ; in 
the gentle arching upward of the woman's forehead and the decided 
elevation at the top and near the center of the cranium. 




42 



LIFE-CENTEBS. 



Few skulls of the female fail to show this peculiarity, which is 
lacking, as a rule, in the male. Phrenologists and scientists generally 
agree that Nature has thereby put her mark upon woman as the more 
moral, the more conscientious and more highly developed in the spir- 
itual qualities. Here, in the loftiest portion of her cranial construction 
she is proclaimed superior to man in many of the finer and higher 
sentiments which distinguish the human race from the brute creation. 




CONVOLUTIONS AND FISSURES 
OF THE OUTER SURFACE OF 
THE SPHERICAL HEMISPHERE. 



The average brain and skull of the man is about one-tenth larger 
than that of the woman. But it is now generally admitted that the 
size and weight of the brain as a whole do not absolutely determine 
intellectual capacity. Fineness and purity of tissue are also to be 
considered, as well as the relative proportion of the gray to the white 



LIFE-CENTEES. 



4i 



matter. In all these points woman appears to be more graciously en- 
dowed than man. 

Bearing directly upon this point of size and weight as a measure 
of intellectual capacity is the case of a certain Munich physiologist of 
note who, after years of wide investigation, attempted to uphold the 
ungallant claim that woman must necessarily be inferior to man be- 
cause of her smaller brain. Others protested that in comparison with 

the total weight of her body her 
brain was even heavier. The plucky 
German, however, insisted upon his 
point, his weight 
of the average 
female brain be- 
ing placed at 1,- 
2 5 grammes 
against 1,350 
for that of the 
male— a differ- 
ence of three 
and one - half 
ounces. Upon 
the death of the 
scholar, who had 
expended so 
many years of 
intellectual en- 
ergy upon the study, it was found that his own brain weighed only 1,245 
grammes, less than the feminine standard which he himself had estab- 
lished. 

WOMAN'S INTUITIONAL NATURE EXPLAINED. 

Close and vital indeed is the relation of the brain-action to the 
process of thought, and to the general health of the body as well. 
Increase of the blood-supply in any part of the body, as all recognize, 




s. Corpus striatum. 
o. Thalamus opticus. 

3. Cms cerebri. 

4. Locus r.iger. 

5. Pons Varolii, denoted by 

transverse lines. 

6. Pyramid. 

7. Olive. 

8. Anterior columns. 

9. Lateral columns. 
to. Posterior columns. 
x\. Corpora quadrigemina. 
X2. Fillet of Reil. 
13. Superior cms of the cere< 

bellum. 
XA. Cerebellum. 



COURSE OF THE NERVE-FIBERS THROUGH THE 
SMALL BRAIN. 



u 



LIFE-CENTERS. 



means a corresponding increase of that part's activity. Nowhere is 
this more evident than in the brain. Now it has been learned that in 
woman's brain a richer blood-supply stimulates those portions con- 
trolling the unconscious processes. Her "sub-conscious mind/' as 
it is sometimes called, is, therefore, more active than her conscious 
intellect; and for this reason she often knows by intuition, in a flash, 
something that man would laboriously reason out. 

So it is with woman's love-nature. The lower part of her brain, 

near the spinal 
cord, is most ac- 
tively nourished 
by the blood- 
supply; hence it 
is not strange 
that the very 
foundations of 
her being rest 
upon sentiment 
rather than up- 
on reason. Nor- 
mally, woman 
lives to be be- 
loved, and intu- 
i t i v e 1 y does 
those things 

which are lovely. See illustration, "Love in Its Anatomical Connec- 
tions." Further, she lives to be beloved of man, while, speaking 
broadly, he chiefly exists to increase in simple strength of body and of 
mind. Thus are brought together strength and tenderness, each to 
modify the other ; the positive and negative poles of being which form 
the complete circuit of creation. 

During sleep, there is only sufficient blood supplied to the brain 
for the purposes of nutrition. Were there more, the action of the 




LOVE IN ITS ANATOMICAL CONNECTIONS. 

m, the corpus caliosum, a great nerve center; o, the seat of love, in 

the female head. 



LIFE-CENTEES. 



45 



brain would render sleep impossible. Activity of the mind greatly 
influences this matter of cerebral circulation. Hence it is easy to 
see why prolonged worry or study, by retaining or increasing the 
blood supply, will cause insomnia; also why, if through sickness, 
monotonous work or other conditions, the supply of the blood to the 




PHRENOLOGICAL CHART 

of the Human Brain. 

brain is greatly lessened, the brain functions will not be carried on 
properly in the waking state; memory, concentration, the voluntary 
mind, the will and the senses become feeble; the brain partially loses 
control of the nervous system, and "nervousness" is the result. At 
such a time the mental impressions are likely to be misinterpreted or 



46 



LIFE-CENTERS. 



greatly exaggerated. The friends of a person thus afflicted should 
not judge harshly, therefore, if they find themselves accused of many 
absurd if trifling offences; neither should they be surprised at the 
nervous one's facility for hearing burglars, seeing ghosts, and dis- 
covering fires or other calamities where none exist. A very simple 
course of treatment restoring the normal blood-supply to the brain 
will usually banish all the horrors. 

HOW TO INCREASE MENTAL VIGOR. 

We see, then, that since the brain is the organ of the mind, the 
better the health of that organ, the more vigorous will be the working 

of the mental powers. This 
can be largely attained by 
judicious exercise ; for reg- 
ular exercise of the brain 
is as needful for that or- 
gan as for any other por- 
tion of the body. When 
any part of the brain is 
called into activity the 
blood is attracted toward 
that part ; and if this exer- 
cise be resumed at regular 
intervals and not carried 
too far, that part or fac- 
ulty of the brain grows in size, strength and facility of action. This 
is shown by the fact that some women have become fine conversa- 
tionalists by dint of regular, thoughtful, persevering practice even 
when they possessed small natural ability in that direction. It is 
the same with music, mathematics or domestic skill; and one wo- 
man who in time of need took up her husband's work as a land- 
scape architect, beginning as she says with a very poor equipment, 
is now employed by several railroads and many owners of private 




HEAD OF SPINAL CORD AND ORIGIN OF THE 
SENTIENT NERVES. 

' ' All the Nerves Centering at Love. ' ' 




W 5 B 

^ SB 

.5 « 

£ .2* 

0:4 




ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE —Sir Frederick Leighton 

It is related in mythology that Orpheus obtained the return of his beloved -wife Eury- 
dice from the infernal regions after her death provided he would not look into her eyes. 
Orpheus, in a moment of forgetfulness, cast a look behind him. They were torn apart 
with, "Farewell, a last farewell." 




CUPID'S WHISPER. 

'More Welcome than the Flowers 




MADONNA. 



LIFE-CENTERS. 51 

grounds, who appreciate the finest work and most able supervision, 
for which she is noted. 

As is easily seen, however, when the exercise is excessive, and 
the part of the brain thus used is not given sufficient rest to allow 



BASE OF THE BRAIN. 

Showing cerebellum, medulla oblongata, lobes, etc. 

Nature to restore the waste caused by its activity, it becomes ex- 
hausted, and brain fever, imbecility, or insanity is the result. A 
knowledge of this law is most important to teachers and students. 



52 LIFE-CENTEBS. 

CHANGE YOUR MIND! 

It must be remembered also that by the operation of this same 
law, the habit of brooding continually on one thing keeps the brain 
on such a strain as to cause it to become weakened or diseased. There 
must be in everything some chance for variation. People suffer more 
often than they need, by failing to realize this. Don't get into mental 
ruts. With an occasional friendly visit, books, travel, pictures, even 
a new arrangement of the furniture in your room, you can frequently 
form new mental images so as to keep the brain in some degree re- 
freshed and interested. ' ' Change your mind every day ! ' ' is the advice 
of one who knows how to keep young, beautiful, socially magnetic and 
mentally brilliant through circumstances which many would find try- 
ing. It is in actual truth as important to vary the mental outlook as 
to change the clothing. 

THE SECOND LIFE-CENTER. 

In the region of the heart, and closely related to it, is another 
mighty center, through which the pulse messages rush like telegrams 
on their way. It seems a pity for science to have disturbed the poetic 
fancies of the ages by telling us that the heart is not, after all, the 
seat of the affections. As we have seen that the phrenologists insist 
on locating, the love-faculty in so unromantic a place as the back of 
the head, we shall have to accept the fact. Still, we will not complain, 
for are we not already finding the truth more wonderful than any 
poet's dream? "With this consideration we will forgive the phrenolo- 
gists and proceed towards further light. 

This second great knot of nerves, near the heart, called the cardiac 
plexus, has a mission so powerful that we can well understand the 
reason for the ancient mistake. Any powerful emotion, whether of 
love, anger, grief, or fear, is transmitted through the sympathetic 
nerves to the life-centers everywhere; and the heart being the center 
of circulation, is quickened in its beating by love or anger, checked 
by fear, or made irregular by grief; until it does indeed seem that 



LIFE-CENTERS. 53 

the heart, even if not the seat of the afTectional nature, is at least 
closely connected with it. 

BROKEN HEARTS. 

Many have tried to uphold the old theory by pointing out that the 
"broken heart" is a physiological fact. True, there have been in- 
stances in which the hearts of those who died of grief were found to 
be literally cleft ; but that clearly occurred by reason of the irregular 
rush of blood, as affected by the condition of the nervous system. 
Serene, temperate, happy natures who are both loving and beloved 
will rarely have occasion to notice their heart-action, for in all prob- 
ability it will be normal and even, quickened only by increased vitality 
and strength as the various faculties are healthfully exercised. 

THE HUMAN SUN. 

Not half enough has been known or taught regarding the third 
important life-center, which is to the human being much what the sun 
is to the earth. This is the solar plexus— the great sympathetic nerve 
center just behind the stomach. 

Do you know persons— of course you do!— who are often troubled 
with "a dreadful sinking at the pit of the stomach"? Or with the 
tendency to feel slighted or abused, with little or no cause? Or with 
the "I can't" paralysis? 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox says that there are two kinds of people in 
the world; the people who lift, and the people who lean. You have 
met those of both kinds; the strong, self-reliant ones so full ol vital, 
radiant soul-shine that every one turns instinctively to them to get 
rid of the blues; and the other sort— the chronically whining, helpless, 
despondent ones who want everything done for them; who fear they 
"can't" succeed in anything they undertake, and who consequently 
never do succeed. Yes, we all know both the "lifters" and the "lean- 
ers." Would you be a "lifter"? Then develop your solar plexus! 

Do you ask "Why"? and "How"? I will tell you. First, as to 
why: 



54 LIFE-CENTERS. 

LINK BETWEEN BODY AND SOUL. 

The solar plexus is in one sense the link between the body and 
the soul. It is in location at the great center of the sympathetic 
nervous system, and closely connected with important organs and 
vital processes throughout the entire body. In its relations with the 
brain, its state of health has a marked effect on the will. Fright, or 
sudden, despairing grief, is felt in this region even more readily than 
near the heart. Such an emotion causes the ''sinking feeling at the 
pit of the stomach" above referred to; and the same sensation only 
in a less violent degree, becomes chronic in a person who is in the 
habit of continually depreciating himself or his neighbors— particu- 
larly himself. No man can succeed in business, no woman in effec- 
tively managing her love affairs or her household, if the solar plexus 
be weak and unreliable. It must and can be made strong. When this 
strengthening process is completed, the result is the thoroughly awake, 
alive, magnetic, successful person whose very presence is a delight 
to all; whose " feelings' ' are never hurt, and who is never "out of 
sorts"; who is so busy doing wise, merry, clever, kind things that 
there seems never any chance for mistakes or worries ; who comes into 
a room or a group of people like a sunbeam and leaves all refreshed 
and invigorated as by an ocean breeze. 

The reason such a person is not receptive to injuries and "slights" 
and can accomplish more than others is simply that he has a well 
developed solar plexus. And this brings us to the other question, 
"How"? 

HOW TO DEVELOP THE SOLAR PLEXUS. 

By frequent, regular, deep breathing of pure air and sunshine, so 
as to increase the blood-supply to that part of the system; by chasing 
away all despondent or disagreeable thoughts— like the burglars that 
they are— with a swiftness that will astonish them; and by a liberal 
use, either mentally or aloud, of the words "I can and I will," fol^ 
lowed by acting as if you really believed and enjoyed them. That is 



LIFE-CENTERS. 55 

the treatment in a nutshell. More specific instructions for the breath- 
ing exercises will be given in a later chapter; but the mental part of 
the treatment is important also. Power dwells in the solar plexus, 
and if given half a chance, instead of being squeezed out of all shape 
and vigor, as it often is, by cramped dressing and cramped thinking, 
this human sun will radiate until life is transformed. 

THE FOURTH LIFE-CENTER. 

Last on the list of the great life-centers is that related to the re- 
productive organs. With reverent tread we approach this part of 
our subject, for who can begin to study the greatest of all creative 
work without feeling that it is holy ground? 

The nerve-center related to the reproductive organs is largest of 
the four, and in woman, has a vital, recuperative power. This is most 
needful, since these organs in the exercise of their functions influence 
the entire nervous and physical system to an unequaled extent. The 
fibers of the woman's nerves, on account of their more delicate tex- 
ture, vibrate more rapidly than those of man and are therefore sub- 
ject to more sudden changes. She is more disposed than man to be 
hysterical, to weep and laugh in the same breath. She is more quickly 
and keenly affected by outward impressions than man. Her body and 
soul promptly recoil from repulsive sights and evil mental impres- 
sions. On account of this finer and more complex nervous organiza- 
tion, woman's nature is not only subject to more rapid changes than 
man's, but it is far more elastic. It is more quickly and profoundly 
disturbed, but returns more readily to its normal state. Her soul is 
painfully touched by misfortune or death, but the nervous shock of 
the blow finds relief in a flood of tears. Her nervous and mental sys- 
tems, which are one and inseparable, regain their stability with a 
promptness which would be impossible for the man whose nature had 
been so deeply affected. 

No work of master-artist ever compared in beauty and perfection 
with the marvelous construction of the human body. It seems difficult 



56 



LIFE-CENTERS. 



to realize that all this wonderful structure grows from a tiny cell, a 
seed, so that human life is in fact not altogether unlike that of the 
beautiful plant-world with which we have already compared it. Not 
only is the great sympathetic nervous system made up of minute 
nerve-cells, but were we to trace life back to its very beginning we 

should find a germ-cell 
which grows and bursts 
open as does the flower- 
seed, sending forth still 
smaller cells; and within 
these we should find a 
mass of infinitesimal, 
oval-shaped bodies with 
long tails— curious living 
beings no larger than the 
point of a pin ! To study 
the history of these little 
creatures and learn what 
becomes of them in the* 
course of their travels is 
to understand, in some de- 
gree, the beginnings of 
human life. We will take 
up this important study 
in due time, giving to each 
portion its appropriate 
space. Meanwhile, hav- 
ing found the four great 





OUTLINE OF THE MALE AND FEMALE FQBM. 



as 



Showing the heavier bone-construction of the Male 
well as the larger muscular development. 

Note the broad shoulders of the Male, and the swelling 
hips of the Female. 



centers of life, let us turn for a moment to certain fundamental differ- 
ences in sex and temperament which distinguish one human life from 
another. 

"God created man male and female," giving to each sex distinc- 
tive qualities admirably adapted to its part in the ever-continuing 



LIFE-CENTERS. 57 

creative process. The differ ences between man and woman, as we 
have seen, are mental as well as physical. Taking a broad, general 
view, we see in man the embodiment of strength ; in woman, the more 
passive, receptive qualities; in man the intellect ruling supreme; in 
woman the spiritual faculties and the love-nature. Physically, man's 
broader shoulders and chest indicate that he was meant to be the lifter 
of the world's many and varied burdens; while woman's slenderer 
form, with exception of the portions meant for child-bearing, gives 
evidence that with her all else is secondary to her chief life-work, 
that of bearing and rearing children to be a joy to themselves and 
humanity. For one entrusted with so grand a creative work, specific 
preparation is surely most needful, and equally a high and sacred 
duty. 

TEMPERAMENT. 

That no human life is complete until rightly mated, is acknowl- 
edged; but how few give to this subject that earnest thought which 
fits them for life's noblest duties, free from all false notions and dan- 
gerous misinterpre. f ions of nature's laws. 

Marriage, the preparation for it and what it involves, must be con- 
sidered in many aspects, and before taking up these matters it is well 
to give thought to the different temperaments to be found in the human 
body, and how each may be recognized. In this way alone can a 
knowledge of the great underlying principles of right selection and 
happy adaptation be gained ; for temperament is, in a very real sense, 
one of the central facts in human life. 

MENTAL OR NERVOUS TEMPERAMENT. 

A person in whom the activity of brain and nervous system strongly 
prevails, may be known by a slender, well-knit frame, sharp features, 
thin skin, fine hair, bright eyes; he moves, speaks and thinks rapidly, 
and is fond of reading and other intellectual pursuits. Such a person 
is apt to mature early, enjoy and suffer keenly, and carry things to 
excess, especially all mental activities. Children of this organization 



58 LIFE-CENTEES. 

require a great deal of care and attention. Plenty of outdoor exer- 
cise, cheerful surroundings, and a gentle, watchful guidance are es- 
sential to keep them well and happy. They are more dependent than 
other children, but their brilliant talents well repay the efforts that 
must be made to give them physical stamina and self-reliance. 

"HEWERS OF WOOD AND DRAWERS OF WATER." 

In the bilious or motive organization, bone and muscle predomi- 
nate. By reason of well organized nutritive processes there is marked 
physical strength. Persons wholly of this class are solid in bone, 
flesh and muscle, have large joints, large, irregular features, dark 
hair and eyes, dark complexions, and are apt to be somewhat dull of 
expression and slow of movement. Though backward in study, they 
are good workers at any task requiring strength rather than speed; 
can endure fatigue and hardships ; cling tenaciously to life ; and while 
they seldom originate anything, can carry out the plans made by oth- 
ers. They do the hard work and fight the battles of life; and the 
world would be in a sad plight without them. 

THE VITAL, OR SANGUINE. 

This temperament is controlled by the circulation, respiration and 
vital organs. The ascendancy of the digestive organs sometimes 
leads to gout and similar troubles late in life. Those having this tem- 
perament are known by a general plumpness of body, strong pulse, 
large face, especially in its lower portion; large base of brain; florid 
complexion, sandy hair and an expression full of health and anima- 
tion. All the vital organs are large and active. Persons of this class 
value life highly, enjoy all its pleasures, breathe freely, sleep soundly, 
eat heartily; frequent social gatherings; are warm-hearted, sympa- 
thetic, and generous; very sensitive and impulsive. They are fonder 
of giving orders than of taking them. Sometimes they show good 
mental ability, but they are never close students, as they lack patience 
and application. 

There is also the phlegmatic or lymphatic temperament, whose 




WILL-O-THE-WISP 



— E. Spangenberg 



This phosphorescent light is represented by the artist as a beautiful maiden whose 
charm and beauty infatuated her admirer and led him to his destruction. 




JUNE ROSES 

4 I will gather sweet roses and sit me here; 
He will see me afar and will hasten near* 
On this day in June." 



— V. Corcos. 



LIFE-CENTERS. 61 

chief distinguishing mark is a general sleepiness of appearance. Some 
of the Asiatic nations, notably the Chinese, are of this class. 

Much might be added on this subject of the varying organizations, 
but enough has been said to enable the reader to distinguish any one 
of them. When the different temperaments are blended in the same 
person, the result is a well-balanced mind and a fine physique. This, 
of course, is the ideal condition. Yet a strongly developed tempera- 
ment has its advantages, and its disadvantages can be modified. Peo- 
ple are not nearly so much the slaves of fate, in these matters, as they 
have been led to think ; and it is but fair to state that a brave, aspiring 
human soul of whatever organization, will surely find its balance 
somewhere, somehow. The body is after all the obedient, though un- 
trained servant of the mind, through which each life can learn by 
degrees to control its own destiny. 



4V. 



CHAPTER II. 

MAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN. 

Beauty the Magic Charm — The Hidden Law — Bright Eyes, Animation, Grace, Express 
the Motherhood Idea — Beauty in Form and its Meaning — No Abnormal Compression 
Needed — Full Breasts the Artist's Ideal — Sprightliness of Step; Why it Attracts — 
Musical Voice — Erect Bearing — The Slender Style — The Plump Type — The California 
Girl — Racial Standards — Soul-Power — Artistic Taste — The Eeligious Instinct — Love 
of Mate and of Offspring — Tact — Intuition — Discreet Reserve — Woman's Tact and 
Eloquence Powerful, Even in Business — Transmitting Qualities Not Her Own — Graces 
Can be Grown. 

WHAT is the great secret of woman's power in history, in so- 
ciety, in all that goes to make np life! 

Beauty, expressed through certain physical and mental charms. 

No other magic so sways the masculine heart; for men admire 
beauty more than all else. A woman possessing it can marry when 
and whom she will; nor indeed is this the full extent of her power, 
for she can in a sense rule the world. 

Let us see in what this peculiar charm consists. It is not wholly 
of feature or form, yet is expressed through both; and we will first 
take a brief inventory of the physical feminine attributes that men 
invariably find most attractive. 

NATURE'S BASIS. 

It is a curious and significant fact that Nature in her laws gov- 
erning the reproduction of the race, makes most beautiful the women 
who, in vitality and formation, are best fitted for maternity; that 
they may be selected first. It is a rule at the basis of all feminine 
beauty. If we observe thoughtfully, we can trace its workings, and 
by thus understanding, every woman can learn to very largely con- 
trol her own place in the list of Nature's favorites. 

First, a woman who is to be entrusted with the great gift of 

62 



MAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN. 63 

motherhood must have abounding vitality. This is absolutely essen- 
tial to the well-being of the lives that are to be dependent upon hers; 
and is necessary for her own sake as well. Hence it is that the bright 
eyes, animated manner, clear complexion, and graceful, active move- 
ments of a beautiful woman become doubly attractive as indicating 
her fitness to bring life to others. 

THE WELL FORMED WOMAN. 

Then, too, a woman's frame must be fashioned in certain propor- 
tions suitable for the duties that she will have to take upon herself. 
The size of the pelvis must be ample, the breasts full, the arms well 
developed; for all these have their special functions in bearing and 
nurturing the child. Artists recognize these facts and always repre- 
sent a beautiful woman as possessing sufficient width from hip to 
hip, and depth through the base of the body from front to rear; the 
arms tapering from shoulder to wrist, and the lower limbs having 
the same tapering quality ; while the waist, hands and feet are of mod- 
erate size, but never abnormally compressed. 

THE SMALL WAIST. 

The reason small waists have been so coveted by women and ad- 
mired by men is because the large ones are supposed to indicate certain 
unhealthy conditions of the generative organs. It is asserted by 
some physiological experts that lack of vitality in those organs, and 
especially scanty menstruation, often leads to a deposit of surplus 
tissue in the region of the waist. This is not invariably the case ; but 
when it does occur from such a cause, the probabilities are that it 
could have been avoided by proper health measures, so that tight 
lacing is not only criminally harmful but absolutely needless for the 
purpose for which it is employed. 

Extremely tall, muscular women, also those very short and ab- 
normally stout, are apt to be lacking in maternal powers ; while those 
only moderately tall or short, and well proportioned, are better 
adapted. A puffy abdomen generally indicates a flabbiness and weak- 



64 



MAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN 



ness of the abdominal muscles; hence all women's instinctive dislike 
for this blemish, and desire to remove any such tendency. It can be 
overcome, as will be shown, but not by unnatural pressure or constric- 
tion of the clothing. 

WHY A WELL-ROUNDED BUST IS BEAUTIFUL. 

The sole nourishment on which every new-born life must depend 
for many months is that supplied by the mother's milk. How admir- 
ably Nature has arranged this nutri- 
ment will appear when we study its 
formation. 

Glands composed of minute sacks 
called follicles are placed in the moth- 
er's breasts; these extract the albumen 
from the blood and convert it into milk. 
Each follicle has its own duct which 
with other ducts empties into larger 
ones, and these into still larger, until 
there are from fifteen to twenty, all 
converging to the center of each breast 
where they form the projecting nipple, 
into which the milk is drawn. From the illustrations it will be seen 
that the breasts resemble half -globes with the flat sides placed against 
the chest, their inner edges nearly meeting and their upper ones ex- 
tending slightly below the armpits. When large, they cover the whole 
chest opposite the upper arm bones; so that in nursing the infant, 
the mother easily and naturally presses it to her breast. 

FULL BREASTS THE ARTIST'S ADMIRATION. 

An art critic has said that without a child in her arms a woman 
does not look well-balanced; and certain it is that a woman is rarely 
more beautiful than when thus holding an infant. Artists always 
portray their ideal types of feminine beauty with well-developed 
breasts. 




PSYCHE. 

A perfect female bosom. 



MAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN. 



65 



Of course it will readily be seen that full breasts are an indication 
of amp]e nourishment for the infant. They are therefore a prominent 
maternal attribute, and high in the list of qualities that men instinc- 
tively admire. A woman with a flat, poorly-developed bust looks im- 
mature and defective. Many who are thus lacking resort to padding, 
or other artificial devices, but this is uncomfortable and unhygienic. 
A better way to possess the desired roundness in this portion will be 
described in the chapter on developing the form. 

Breadth between the armpits, even when the bust is not well 
rounded, is desirable, as it indicates good 
lung capacity, which is one of the prime 
essentials in woman; for breath is life, and 
the breathing power of one must often help 
to build the life-forces of not one alone, but 
two. 

TAPERING ARMS AND LIMBS. 




INTERNAL STRUCTURE 
OF FEMALE BREAST. 

S, S, Sacs; D, D, Ducts. 



A woman is so formed that the upper part 
of the arms and thighs are more beautiful 
large than small. The arms are meant to 
hold and nurse children, and must therefore 
be somewhat muscular ; and the large pelvis, 
always accompanied by large hips, could not 
merge at once into small thighs without 
deformity. Feet and ankles moderately 
small; however, combined with the large thighs, result in an agile 
sprightliness of step much admired, because it is so distinctively 
feminine; as are also small, well-rounded wrists and hands. Hence 
the more tapering the arms and limbs, the more beautiful. This 
tapering, when not originally possessed, can be cultivated to some 
extent, without injury, as will appear. 

A rich, musical voice is one of woman's greatest charms. Where 
this exists, it may be safely inferred, the health of the generative 
organs and the sex-nature is good; but a thin, weak, crackling voice. 



66 



MAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN. 



whether in man or woman, is one of the almost sure signs of a defect 
in the reproductive powers. A woman does not need to be a singer 
in order to captivate with her voice ; the speaking voice has power to 
thrill and enchant. 

A GRACEFUL BEARING. 

When a woman carries herself, as most beautiful women do natu- 
rally, with head erect, shoulders thrown back and breast well forward, 
it is another sign of superiority. Such a graceful, erect bearing lends 
attractiveness even to a not over-beautiful face; which is one of the 
advantages gained in dancing school or a course of physical culture. 

TWO TYPES OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN. 

There are two distinct types of beauty in form, for women; the 
slender, and the full, or plump. One is as beautiful as the other; 

but to be so, the form must 
be well-proportioned. The 
ancients recognized these 
two types, and a good illus- 
tration of both will be found 
in the Goddess Una, and the 
Three Graces ; Una portray- 
ing the more robust, and the 
Graces the slender, types of 
the perfectly formed wo- 
man. 

The slender type of fe- 
male beauty belongs to the 
mental temperament ; the 
rounded type, to the vital or 
sanguine. 

Between blonde and brunette beauty, also, we find no rule or gen- 
eral preference; but the petite and blonde types of women (we are 
told by specialists) are becoming less plentiful in our own country. 




THE GODDESS UNA. 

A perfect female pelvis and form 
throughout. 



MAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN. 



67 



Immigration is bringing more and more of the brunette races of 
Europe to our shores, and their preponderance is beginning to reduce 
the proportion of fair, blue-eyed women. 

DIFFERING STANDARDS. 

In the minor physical charms, it is interesting to note the various 
opinions as to comparative beauty. Prof. McGee regards the Cali- 
fornia girl as representing the 
highest type of beauty to be found 
in the world. In that state have 
been most concentrated and inten- 
sified all of the forces at work to 
improve our race— especially pio- 
neer influence and admixture of 
blood. Dr. R. W. Schufeldt, the bi- 
ologist, in discussing the question 
as to what attributes different 
races acknowledge to be beautiful, 
says: "It really seems that the 
lower the race in the scale of civ- 
ilization the more fixed and re- 
stricted are their ideas in this direction. On the other hand, the 
majority of the men at least, among the Indo-Europeans, to which race 
we belong, see beauty in the greatest variety of women of other coun- 
tries than their own." But the American girl, as well as her foreign 
sisters of the same race, is not beautiful in the eyes of all the peoples of 
the earth, according to Dr. Schufeldt. The American Indian regards 
her skin as too light. The black men of Africa regard her nose as too 
long and her lips too thin. A native of Cochin-China once spoke with 
contempt of the beauty of the British Ambassador's wife. He com- 
plained that she had "white teeth like a dog's" and a "rosy color like 
that of potato flowers. ' ' Thus we find that race is a strong element in 
determining individual taste. 




THE THREE GRACES. 

The "Faun Form" in perfection. 



68 MAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN. 



MENTAL TRAITS MOST ADMIRED. 



Back of all this study of Nature's laws in the material world, true 
as they are, we find another curious fact : 

Although men love physical beauty in women, they love mental 
beauty still more. 

This accounts, in the main, for the many marriages where women 
possess few physical charms. The beauty still exists; but it has a 
different method of expression. What mental traits, then, do men 
most admire in women? 

First of all, the quality that might be called spiritual perception. 
A mother must impart to a child more than its physical nourishment 
and attributes. There is a soul-power which is back of and underlying 
all else. This must be possessed by the truly beautiful woman, and 
nothing can take its place. This power manifests itself in pure and 
intense feelings, affections and emotions ; artistic taste ; love of music ; 
the religious instinct, and most of all, perhaps, in the love of offspring 
and affection for the mate. All refining, uplifting influences come 
from the soul; hence soul-culture is one of the most important tasks 
of the woman who would be beautiful. The cultivation of flowers is 
a help in this development; it refines and enriches the taste. Other 
mental traits that men especially admire in women are tact ; intuition ; 
eloquence; caution; gratitude; gentleness; and especially a discreet 
reserve, with a delicate sense of propriety and regard for appearances. 

Think for a moment why this is so. Intuition, enabling one to 
understand the motives and ambitions of another, will create sympathy 
of thought, which is of untold value. Tact, or knowing how to say and 
do "the right thing in the right place," so as to give pleasure and 
avoid giving offense, is a gift which no woman can afford to lack. Its 
absence, however, is an occasion, not for depression or despair, but 
for thoughtful endeavor until the desired trait is supplied. Eloquence 
of speech, together with the two qualities just described, enables many 
a woman to so present a subject as to gain important concessions 




HOW LONG 



— Herbert Schmalz 



"It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." 

— Tennyson. 




PAUL AND FRANCESCA di RIMINI 



■L. Hoffman-Zeitz 



The most pathetic episode in Dante's sreat poem, "The Divine Comedy.*' Promised in 
marriage to a deformed man, who sends his handsome brother to represent him at the 
hetrothal, Franeesea thinking him to he her promised husband, falls in love with him, 
and her love is reciprocated. Both are put to death in consequence. The poem unites 
them in the spirit world. 




HER BEST FRIEND. 

"I ask my mamma — she knows ! ,J 



MAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN. 73 

where men would have little influence. Such a woman is a most valu- 
able ally in any philanthropic cause or even in many business under- 
takings. Caution helps to counteract man's frequent tendency to rash- 
ness; gratitude for favors and a gentle manner towards all, are 
gracious parts of a woman's inheritance that help to make her a very 
queen; while the reserve that would keep the inmost womanly treas- 
ures of affection and its expression for the one who has first proved 
his right to claim them, is the very thing that in the eyes of man makes 
those treasures really worth striving for. 

All these are traits which are readily transmitted from mother to 
child, but not so readily from the father; hence the importance of 
every woman possessing them, and the marked masculine preference 
for women who do possess them. Eecent scientific discoveries, it is 
true, have proved that woman, by a careful study of the laws of pre- 
natal culture, can learn to transmit qualities not naturally possessed 
by herself. We shall discuss this further in the chapter on "The 
Mother- Artist." 

But in speaking of these qualities as the ones most attractive in 
woman, let it be remembered that they are all graces that can be grown 
from even the smallest seed of aspiration in the womanly soul; and 
to unite these mental graces with the highest attainable physical health 
and beauty, is to be wonderfully magnetic. 



CHAPTER III. 

GBOWING BEAUTIFUL. 

Multiplied Power of a Beautiful Mother — Beauty for All, the Twentieth Century's Proph- 
ecy — Evolution from the Greek Standard of Beauty — Modern Measurements — Ra- 
phael's "Serpentine, Fire-Flame Curve of Beauty" — Disfigurement of Tight Lacing — 
"No Suggestion of Bone or Muscle" — Beauty-Hunger Divinely Implanted — Treating 
God's Temple with Dainty Care — Young and Beautiful at Fifty — Plain Girls Growing 
Handsome — Story of the Two Sisters — Mind-Treasures Beautify Expression — Bright- 
ness, Love and Harmony are Wonder-Workers — Five Sunshine Rules — Importance of 
Healthy Sex-Nature — Positive Manly Force and Charming Feminine Power — Aim for 
Beauty which Can be Transmitted — Four Cardinal Points of Health and Beauty. 

lj* BOM the deepest of all life-centers— the human soul— springs the 
-*- love of beauty and the wish to possess it. Especially in all true 
feminine natures do we find this strong desire. And there is every 
reason why it should be so. 

There is nothing in all creation so beautiful as a beautiful woman ; 
nothing so beloved. Not only is feminine beauty worshipped by mas- 
culine hearts, but it is recognized by the smallest child. If a child's 
mother is beautiful, the little one will tell her so as soon as it is able 
to lisp a few words in the sweet baby-language. A mother's influence 
is a matchless power, but that of a beautiful mother is doubly strong. 
How the boy or girl glows with pride and delight as such a mother 
graciously presides at some holiday scene of hospitality to the school- 
mates ! And all through life the same blessed magic holds sway, mak- 
ing home the most attractive place on earth. 

BEAUTY WITHIN REACH OF ALL. 

Beauty, in a greater or less degree, is for all who desire it. The 
ancient Greeks in a measure understood this truth ; but they saw only 
the physical side of it, as did the world at large, and so the magic 
power was lost. With the advent of the twentieth century a new light 

74 



GROWING BEAUTIFUL. 75 

is dawning, and there are signs of a knowledge to come even greater 
than that of the Greeks. The modern standard of beauty has changed 
in several respects. It is interesting to note the various ways in which 
these changes appear. 

HOW TO GAUGE THE FIGURE. 

Dr. Robert Fletcher, the well-known anthropologist, calls attention 
to the fact that the Greek sculptor, in modeling a perfect human form, 
followed the rule that the height of the head should be one-eighth of 
the entire stature. "But modern statistics show that a well formed 
human being should measure seven and one-half heads to the entire 
stature," he says. "The Greek sculptor, therefore, was either in 
error, or modern civilization has developed the head at the expense 
of the trunk and limbs.' ' 

To diagnose the state of her figure, our beauty-seeker must then 
divide the number of inches in her entire stature by those in the height 
of her head. If the quotient be "8," she may congratulate herself 
upon conforming to the Greek ideal; if it be "7%," that she is con* 
sistent with the modern average, or perfect proportion. 

WOMEN THINNER THAN ANCIENT MODELS. 

Next, let her compare her proportions with those of the Venus de 
Medici, considered by most sculptors to be the most perfect of all the 
reproductions of the divine form of woman. Her height is 5 feet 3 
inches; circumference of neck, 12.3 inches; of chest, 33.6 inches; of 
waist, 27.3 inches; of hips, 36.3 inches; of thigh, 21.1 inches; of calf, 
14 inches; of forearm, 10.6 inches; of extended arm, 11.4 inches; of 
wrist, 6.5 inches. 

Comparing these measurements with those of a number of young 
women in a New England school of gymnastics, who were selected as 
being exceptionally well-built, it is discovered that all of those having 
the stature of the Venus de Medici have thicker necks and smaller 
chests, waists, hips, extended arms, forearms and wrists; that nearly 
all are smaller in the thigh and calf. The combined statistics of sev- 



76 GROWING BEAUTIFUL. 

era! of our institutions for the higher education of women show much 
the same conditions for the average woman of 5 feet 3 inches tall, the 
thighs being somewhat larger. Briefly, the modern rule for a well 
proportioned figure is that for a woman 5 feet tall, the waist should 
measure 24 inches and the hips 33 inches ; for a woman 5 feet 5 inches 
tall the waist should measure 26 inches and the hips 35 inches. Any 
smaller waist indicates tight lacing. 

TWO WAYS OF GROWING TALLER. 

The measurements of a million men enlisted under the war depart- 
ment show that those from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Kentucky 
were conspicuously taller than the remainder, and that the districts 
producing these tallest soldiers correspond with those where there are 
underlying deposits of lime. Hence if children are reared where they 
may drink good hard water well tinctured with lime, they will be taller 
than under other conditions; for lime makes bone and bone makes 
stature. Certain physical exercises will also tend to increase the height 
even in cases where young women are supposed to have attained their 
full growth. 

AMERICAN BEAUTY EXCEEDS GRECIAN. 

American women are more beautiful than those of ancient Greece 
or Borne. Our growing standard of beauty appeals just as much to 
cultured foreigners as it does to Americans themselves. The Ameri- 
can girl is envied by her European sisters because while abroad she 
attracts European men. 

"If a comparison could be made between the typical American 
and the typical Greek woman ours would doubtless prove the more 
beautiful," says Dr. Theodore N. Gill, the eminent biologist of the 
Smithsonian Institute. "The artists assume a certain standard of 
ancient beauty, but the ancients probably did not judge beauty from 
individual living types. Their standard was most probably complex, 
embodying the most beautiful features or characteristics of various 
individuals. ' ' 



G-KOWING- BEAUTIFUL. 77 

MOST BEAUTIFUL AFTER TWENTY-FIVE. 

This method has also been pursued in our own day. The German 
scientist, Dr. C. H. Stratz, after investigating the whys and where- 
fores of feminine beauty, has made the statement that the average 
woman attains the height of her beauty between her 25th^and her 30th 
year. He describes the ideal features, as selected from different 
sources, as follows: Lips full, but not sensuous; upper lip deep; a 
deeply chiseled depression extending to the nose and a finely molded 
chin beneath; forehead full and perpendicular; eyes deep-set; nose 
straight; a perpendicular outline of the upper lip and chin; eyebrows 
slightly arched and well apart, and a generous space between cheeks 
and deep-set ears. 

Perfection in bodily form as a whole, he finds in a young maid of 
Vienna, slender, but devoid of angles; with tapering limbs, bust 
rounded and solid, but not prominent ; a slender waist ; shoulders and 
throat delicate, but— like the entire body-mold— suggesting no outline 
of framework or tendon beneath. From the shoulder to the foot the 
outline of this beautiful form reproduces that serpentine, fire-flame 
curve of beauty which Eaphael has been accused of using almost to 
excess. This, of course, is the slender type of beauty belonging to 
youth; not by any means the only type. 

A beautifully modeled back is found in a native Javanese girl, who 
has never felt the pressure of stays, and who is compared with a young 
Parisian, the sharpness of whose lines about the waist distinctly shows 
the disfigurement of tight lacing. 

Greatest beauty in the modeling of the hips Dr. Stratz finds In a 
young English girl. What he selects as the most beautifully molded 
arm is indeed an artist's dream come to life. It is characterized by a 
continuous tapering from the shoulder to the slender wrist, and a per- 
fect roundness throughout, with no suggestion of bone or muscle be- 
neath. 

Much has been said by modern writers of the possibility of increas- 



78 GROWING BEAUTIFUL. 

ing beauty, and many formulas have been given, some of little value; 
but the grains of truth remain, and are well worth sifting from the 
mass of chafT. 

Never should the natural desire for beauty be discouraged; it is 
divinely implanted. You, for instance, are a thought of God; other- 
wise you would not be here. Is there any sensible reason why God's 
thoughts expressed in human form should be less beautiful than those 
expressed in the form of flowers! 

All can attain some degree of beauty, often far more than they 
suppose. The effort is not wasted, if only it is made in the right spirit. 
It makes a difference whether one selfishly strives for the beauty of 
the society butterfly, at the expense of health, morals and peace of 
mind, or reverently treats with scrupulous, dainty care the bodily 
temple of the Most High, that it may be a fit dwelling-place for the 
pure soul that is to send forth light and joy into the world. Yes, it 
makes a difference, as you will find if you notice how early and how 
completely the beauty of the indolent society belle fades, while that of 
the thoughtful, purposeful, loving woman increases even in the midst 
of hard work and a life not untouched by sorrow. 

TRUE BEAUTY MORE THAN SKIN DEEP. 

Beauty is a plant whose leaves and blossoms refresh and delight 
the eye, but whose roots are planted deep in the fertile soil of an 
intelligent mind. The girl with a purpose in life has a great advantage 
over her aimless, indolent sister. There is a growing beauty, because 
a growing tenderness, resulting from the wider knowledge and deep- 
ening sympathies of one whose life is spent in some useful work for 
others. Experience and thought, if of the right sort, add to her charms. 
It has been said that a homely, uninteresting face may be excused in 
a young person, but not in one past middle life. You can look, and be 
as young and 

BEAUTIFUL AT FIFTY AS AT FIFTEEN. 

You may think this is expressing it strongly; but there is truth, 
and important truth, in the thought, as this book will show. Still fur- 



GROWING BEAUTIFUL. 79 

ther, the plain young woman can, and often does, become most attract- 
ive-looking when older. 

WHY PLAIN GIRLS BECOME HANDSOME. 

Two sisters were often noticed in early life because of the striking 
contrast which they presented in personal appearance. They were not 
far from the same age ; but one was extremely pretty, with dark, spark- 
ling eyes, a mouth perfectly shaped, and a well-rounded, graceful 
figure. She was much admired and sought after ; while her sister, who 
had scarcely a handsome feature, was neglected. 

Aware of her misfortune, knowing that she was not as attractive 
in person as her sister, the plain girl turned to mental pursuits, and 
while not neglecting herself physically, gave her chief energies to 
enriching her mind. While doing this, she began, quite unconsciously, 
to change in outward appearance. As the years passed, the treasure- 
house of her mind began to overflow and bestow some of its wealth on 
her hitherto unattractive face; so that people said, "She is actually 
growing pretty!" But as time went on, and both sisters married, 
"pretty" became too tame a word; she was beautiful. A well stored, 
gracious mind had helped to bring the love-faculty to perfection, and 
had pictured forth in outward beauty, not only of expression, but of 
configuration ; for the very shape of her features yielded themselves to 
the perfectly natural law which seemed so magical in its workings. 
Meanwhile, her sister, having still given no attention to anything but 
frivolous society, had come to have a worn, jaded look that destroyed 
all beauty of expression, feature and form. This is a common ex- 
perience. 

A GREAT CONTRAST. 

There is no mistake about it; the perfect woman surpasses the 
society girl in splendor as the noonday sun surpasses the flickering 
candle. One gives the impression of soul, warmth, tenderness and 
power ; the other, of vacillation and feebleness. The difference is often 
in the right and wrong recognition, and care, or lack of care, of the 



80 GROWING BEAUTIFUL. 

sex-nature. This once properly understood, growth in wisdom of all 
kinds should be and literally is, growth in beauty as well. Once 
remove from the minds of people generally the mistaken idea that 
beauty belongs only to youth, and you open before them a new world 
of ever-increasing charm. 

BEAUTY'S TRUE BASIS. 

Health of body, mind and soul, including health of the sex-nature ? 
which pertains to all three, is the true basis of beauty. As we have 
seen, beauty that pleases the soul— the moral nature— wears best. 
Some have awakened to their spiritual life-centers, learning to make 
the physical secondary. By this course, indeed, they help the physical 
most. But for the greater part of humanity, the mental and physical 
act and react, influencing each other greatly. The body affects the 
mind; the mind builds its qualities into the body. From earliest in- 
fancy—nay, before !— the mind should be trained to see the good and 
beautiful in everything, far more readily than the evil. Hang only the 
bright pictures in your mental gallery; they will work wonders. No 
others should be allowed space; for unless the habit of thought is lov- 
ing and harmonious, it cannot be allied to the great life-centers of the 
universe, and the whole nature sutlers in consequence. 

MENTAL EMOTIONS DEFORM AND BEAUTIFY. 

We have already seen how the mental emotions reach the physical 
centers and affect the circulation and nervous system. Prof. Henry 
Wood says : "It has long been conceded by scientific and medical men 
that hate deforms, disintegrates and destroys the physical organism; 
that anger, hatred, ill-will and anxiety bring mental and physical 
chaos. While this fact has been conceded and accepted by all, we 
have been slow to recognize that the opposite of hate will have an 
opposite effect; that if hate destroys, love builds up, renovates and 
restores." 

A sunny disposition is most beautifying, and is within the reach of 



GROWING BEAUTIFUL. 83 

even the naturally fretful and morose. Let such faithfully practice 
the following rules: 

BUILDING A NEW DISPOSITION. 

L— Never look on the dark side of anything. If it has no bright 
side, don't look at it at all. Look at something else. 

II.— Never speak or even think ill of another. Don't "jump at 
conclusions" by judging unfavorably even if circumstances are sus- 
picious. 

III.— Never take any desired favor for granted. If you follow this 
rule you never need fear being cheated or disappointed. 

IV.— Try to find something good in every person you meet. 

V.— Eead good books, think good thoughts, lead pure lives, observ- 
ing the laws of health. 

These habits once formed become literal brain-paths along which 
it grows easier and easier for the thoughts to travel, bringing glad- 
ness, health and symmetry to every nerve and tissue. In countless 
cases such results have been achieved. 

HOW TO SAY WHAT YOU THINK. 

Truthfulness is a great virtue, but truthfulness unguided by a 
spirit of love makes the nature and the face very unlovely. Those 
who "say what they think" are beautiful or repulsive according to 
whether or not they have adopted the unvarying rule to think only 
kind thoughts. How happy and successful are the beauty seekers who 
can say from the depths of experience, 

• ' The inner side of every cloud 

Is bright and shining. 
I therefore turn my clouds about 
And always wear them inside out 

To show the lining!" 

Love of the beautiful in nature and in art is itself beautifying; it 

gives an added power of understanding to the soul, which seldom 

fails to manifest itself in eyes, movement and expression. 
5 v. 



84 GROWING BEAUTIFUL. 

Taste in dress is something desired by many but possessed by few. 
It can be acquired, like grace of movement, in several ways. These 
and other details will be treated in separate chapters. But as a founda- 
tion, how much more important it is that the form which moves and 
is clothed, as well as the face surmounting it, be beautiful with that 
grace which grows from within! 

A HEALTHY SEX-NATUBE ESSENTIAL. 

One fact must not be overlooked. Beauty, whether of plant or 
animal life, is possible only when sex-power and sex-energy exist in 
their fulness. By sex is meant the two elements of cell-life which are 
needed, each to complete the other. We find the masculine and femi- 
nine elements throughout all nature ; they attract each other, and when 
united, reproduce their kind and nurture the new life. 

WHY WE HAVE OLD MAIDS AND BACHELORS. 

The first office of the sex-element is to attract ; hence when the sex- 
nature is healthy it is highly magnetic. The fragrance of the flower, 
the gorgeous hues of the butterfly, are but instances of sex and its 
attractions in the lower forms of life. A well-sexed man or woman is 
usually generous, gracious, intelligent; if a woman, beautiful; and 
always charming, especially to those of the opposite sex; while a 
poorly-sexed person does not thus attract, and usually is averse to 
the opposite sex and to marriage. This in a sense is well, because 
those men not thoroughly masculine, and those women not thoroughly 
feminine, are apt, unless extraordinary precautions are taken, to make 
inferior parents and to have children inferior to themselves. 

The health of the sex-nature, therefore, cannot be too sacredly 
guarded. Very sad are the instances— and there are thousands of 
them— where a happy wedded life has been rendered impossible by an 
ignorant misuse of the God-given powers of reproduction. But this 
wrong course, though a frequent cause of a weak sex-nature, is not the 
only cause. Occasionally a pure young girl, from extreme shyness, 
shrinks from the other sex and does not outgrow the feeling, so that 



GEOWING BEAUTIFUL. 85 

all through her life the reticent, shrinking impulse continues, and 
often causes her much suffering as she compares herself unfavorably 
with her gayer companions. With the right kind of care, however, 
this sensitive modesty can be converted into a sweet reserve that is 
even more charming to the best class of people than the vivacity of 
less finely-organized natures. 

But in all cases, the sex-nature must be kept in an absolutely 
healthy condition. Such a condition can be reached, and retained, 
only by pure, temperate, abstemious lives ; and when amativeness, the 
faculty which governs this part of the nature, is abnormally small, 
resulting in the painful modesty above mentioned, the remedy is to 
be found in increased social opportunities of a pleasant, refined char- 
acter, including frequent association with the opposite sex, together 
with careful cultivation of the general health of body and mind. If 
there has been a mistaken idea leading to repugnance for the gener- 
ative functions, this may be the whole trouble, and should be replaced 
at once by the knowledge that nowhere in God's world is there a more 
beautiful and sacred work than the creative one. 

SEX IS LARGELY MENTAL. 

It is really in the mental faculties that the sex nature of a human 
life has its root. The thoroughly masculine man is liked because his 
way of thinking, moving and talking is masculine; full of positive, 
coEamanding force. So with the truly feminine woman; her thoughts, 
words, actions and looks all spring from her love-nature, which lends 
grace and charm to all she does and is. When a woman's love-nature 
is happily active, it makes her ten years younger, and tenfold more 
beautiful. Men value this kind of beauty more than any other, partly 
because it is so inherently magnetic, partly because it indicates good 
maternal qualities. 

ARTIFICIAL BEAUTY NOT TRANSMITTED. 

From the question of beauty resulting from sex-health, we turn to 
that of the relation of beauty to physical health in general. It is a 



36 GROWING BEAUTIFUL. 

most vital one, as many have found to their cost. Vast sums of money 
are spent in pitiful attempts to make cosmetics, padding and corsets 
take the place of healthful living, an intelligent mind and a beautiful 
soul. One can never transmit beauty gained in such artificial ways; 
nor even keep it. The woman who deranges her nervous system with 
late hours and irregular habits, poisons her blood with bad cosmetics 
and worse foods, and in short, sets all or any of the laws of health at 
defiance, cannot expect to excel in beauty, even if originally gifted 
with pleasing features and a vigorous constitution. Nature takes back 
her gifts when not appreciated. 

THE CARDINAL POINTS. 

The main needs of the body for health and beauty alike, are what 
might be called the four "cardinal points,'' nourishment, cleanliness, 
exercise and sleep; to which should be added, proper clothing, and 
due attention to light, air and warmth. When these bodily conditions 
are all as they should be, the result will be the essential elements of 
physical beauty ; a clear complexion, bright eyes, straight, supple form, 
graceful movements, and last, but by no means least in charm, a musical 
voice. All these can be possessed by women of any age. But I am 
prepared to go further, and in the directions which follow, gathered 
alike from long experience and from recent discoveries, I shall en- 
deavor to show my readers how a great many annoying physical de- 
fects may be overcome, natural charms preserved and increased, and 
a degree of beauty attained surpassing ordinary expectations. The 
physical, mental and sexual causes of beauty or its lack, will all be 
taken into account, and a wide practical experience made the chief 
guide in leading the beauty-seeker to the desired goal. 



CHAPTER IV 

BEAUTY DIET. 

Ample Variety of Selection — Many Foods are Beauty-Producing— Which Water Produces 
Beautiful Teeth? — Meats Must "be Fresh — Hot Milk is Reviving — Eggs are Complete 
Food — Vegetables and Grains — Nuts a Perfect Substitute for Meat — Valuable Table 
of Nutritious Foods — As a Beauty-Producer, Fruit is Woman's Boon — Fruit for the 
Complexion — How to Improve the Whole Physique. 

A COMPLEXION of cream and roses cannot be expected to result 
from a diet of pork, pastry and preserves; neither is it neces- 
sary, on the other hand, to follow the heroic example of one beauty- 
seeker and limit ourselves, as she did, to oatmeal and molasses. There 
is a wide range of wholesome, appetizing food from which to select. 

WHAT THE FOOD DOES. 

Suppose we first consider the comparative values of the different 
foods, aad the uses to which they are adapted in building up the body. 
In this way we shall arrive at an intelligent understanding of why 
and when certain foods are beauty-producing and others are not. 

Tke natural foods, if cultivated and used in the right proportions, 
would prevent and cure disease; and in doing this, would correct the 
conditions leading to many physical defects. There are three main 
divisions of food: the carbonaceous, which supply the body's heat; the 
proteids, or nitrogenous foods, which build the tissues of the body; 
and the phosphates, which form the blood salts and furnish the nutri- 
ment supplied by the blood to the brain. 

THE HEAT-PRODUCEBS. 

Pale, chilly people generally need more heat-producing food. & 
person resembling a shivering ghost, or shadow, can hardly be said 
to be "a thing of beauty and a joy forever. " To grow into the 

87 



88 BEAUTY DIET, 

physical perfection desired, such must have more fuel to give lasting 
warmth to the body. 

The carbonaceous foods, supplying this need, are starch, sugar and 
fats. Starch is found in all cereals— wheat, barley, corn, rice, tapioca, 
etc.; also in beans, peas, sage, arrowroot, potatoes, carrots and par- 
snips. Eice, one of the most useful of foods, consists almost entirely 
of starch. Potatoes have a great deal, and are wholesome only when 
the starch granules which compose them are in good condition, as 
shown by their swelling out during boiling, bursting their covering 
and converting themselves into a floury mass, easily broken up. Pota- 
toes contain from 20 to 25 per cent of nutriment. This is almost 
entirely starch, but in combination with other foods, potatoes are not 
equal to rice. 

Sugar is contained in fruits, besides being found in the maple, 
beet, sugar-cane and in honey. The fruits are so important that they 
will be dealt with presently more at length. 

Fats are procured from both animal and vegetable sources, and 
include lard, tallow, butter, cream; together with nut, olive and other 
vegetable oils. Cornmeal contains considerable fat, and is therefore 
a good winter food, especially when combined with milk or eggs. The 
sugars, starches and fats would be too heating if partaken of very 
heartily by persons leading an inactive, indoor life. 

TISSUE-BUILDERS. 

These, the nitrogenous foods, or proteids, include lean meat, fish, 
poultry, eggs, milk, cheese ; while peas, beans, lentils and some of the 
grains also contain nitrogen. The gluten of whole wheat flour is espe- 
cially rich in this important building material. All fruits contain 
sufficient nitrogen to sustain life, and the same substance is also sup- 
plied to the system through the lungs. 

THE PHOSPHATES. 

Except table salt, the phosphates, or salts, occur in ordinary die* 
in sufficient quantities. Water supplies them in greater or less degree. 



BEAUTY DIET. 89 

THE BEST DRINKING WATER 

is that obtained from deep wells, or mountain springs. When there 
is any indication that water is not pure, it is always a wise precaution 
to boil and cool it for drinking purposes. 

BEAUTIFUL TEETH. 

For all young people who would have these, the drinking of hard 
water is essential. It contains lime, which is needed by the young to 
build up and preserve all the bone- sub stance of the body, and is par- 
ticularly needed by the teeth. Without this element, teeth will soften, 
crumble and decay early. Entire wheat bread should be eaten in 
preference to white, for a similar reason. Those advanced in years, 
however, require less lime in their food than the young, for it is hard- 
ening and somewhat aging in its effects upon those of mature years. 
In middle life, therefore, the diet should be changed. 

ICED DRINKS. 

Any considerable use of iced drinks is to be avoided. Small quan- 
tities are of service in relieving thirst, checking vomiting and in cool- 
ing the body after exposure to great heat. But since ice causes the 
mucous membrane of the stomach to become temporarily pale and 
bloodless, it checks, or altogether suspends the flow of the gastric 
juice. Thus iced drinks, especially at meals, interfere seriously with 
digestion, and consequently with the beauty of the complexion, and 
with the general appearance as well. Observe also that there is no 
truth in the popular notion that frozen water, or ice, is always pure. 
Water is not purified by freezing, and may be even more polluted than 
it was before. 

MEAT THREE-FOURTHS WATER. 

Although by most people considered a necessity, meat is less nutri- 
tious in proportion to its bulk than many other foods. When raw, 
meat consists of about seventy-five per cent water; the other twenty- 
five per cent being nitrogen and fat. Although meat becomes more 



90 



BEAUTY DIET. 



tender by keeping, it is more wholesome while fresh, and freshness 
should not be sacrificed for a tenderness really due to the beginning 
of decomposition. The flesh of mature cattle, those about four or five 
years old, is more nutritious than that of younger ones. Beef and 
mutton are more easily digested than veal and pork. Yeal broth, how- 
ever, contains more nutri- 
tious matter than mutton 
broth, or beef tea. Poultry 
and wild birds, if young, 
yield a tender and digestible 
meat. Fish vary much in 
their digestibility ; salmon, 
for instance, being utterly 
unfit for weak stomachs. 
Crabs and lobsters are no- 
toriously indigestible. 

VALUE OF MILK. 

This is the sole nourish- 
ment provided by nature 
for the young of man and 
beast, and contains all food 
elements in the best propor- 
tions for the infant's needs. 
But milk alone is not adapt- 
ed to the adult as a general 
rule. Some, it is true, have 
found an all-milk diet bene- 
ficial in certain states of 
I impaired health; but it 
would not generally suffice. 
Supplemented by other food, however, it is invaluable, and not 
appreciated as it ought to be. Hot milk is a beverage that cannot 
well be overestimated. It should be slowly sipped, as hot as it can 




BEAUTY DIET. 91 

be taken ; a little salt being added if it makes the milk more palatable. 
It is really surprising what quickly reviving influence this drink has, 
when one is fatigued by over-exertion of body or mind. The milk 
heated for this purpose should not be boiled; it injures the flavor. 
But boiled milk, taken while still hot, is one of the best of foods in 
almost all bowel complaints, and is very successful as a remedy. In 
India, where the climate produces many such ailments, it is in con- 
stant use for this purpose. A physician in practice there has found 
that a pint every four hours will check the most violent diarrhoea, 
stomach-ache, dysentery, or incipient cholera. It is soothing and heal- 
ing to the whole digestive tract. No patient will need other food 
during bowel troubles, so that the same simple preparation serves at 
once for medicine and nourishment. 

Cheese, while highly nutritious, is not very digestible. It should 
be eaten sparingly until experience proves whether it is suited to the 
individual, or is too constipating. 

EGGS 

are among the best nitrogenous foods. The nearer raw, the more 
digestible they are. Six large eggs will weigh about a pound. As a 
flesh-producer, one pound of eggs is equal to one pound of beef. About 
one-third of the weight of an egg is solid nutriment, which is more 
than can be said of meat. There are no bones nor tough pieces that 
have to be laid aside. Practically, an egg is animal food, and yet 
there is none of the disagreeable work of the butcher required to 
obtain it. Eggs at average prices, are among the cheapest and most 
nutritious articles of diet. Like milk, an egg is complete food in 
itself, containing everything that is necessary for the development 
of a perfect animal. It is also easily digested, if not damaged in 
cooking. A raw egg, beaten light, with the addition of a half a glass- 
ful of milk, and a little sugar, if desired, makes an excellent tonic. It 
should be taken before breakfast. Another fine tonic for the throat, 
voice and general health, is made in the same way, only substituting 
lemon juice for the milk. The more air beaten into the egg, the better, 



92 BEAUTY DIET. 

for the oxygen vitalizes it, and improves the quality of the blood. Tha 
same is largely true of whipped cream. Bright eyes and perfect com- 
plexions result from just such simple treatments. 

VEGETABLES AND GRAINS. 

Among the vegetables, parsnips, beets and carrots are wholesome 
and nutritious, and should be used much more than they are. Turnips 
are not so valuable. Cabbages have but little food value, but the salts 
they contain are excellent in the preservation of health. It is impor- 
tant that all green vegetables be eaten while in a fresh condition. 

Of the grains, wheat is the staple; barley, rye and oats are also 
good, though somewhat inferior to wheat; while our corn, which we 
inherit from the Indians, and have immensely improved, can hardly 
be overestimated. 

NUTS. 

Though long regarded as fit only for desserts and relishes, nuts 
are in reality of great value as food. They are highly nutritious, and 
the oil which they contain is among the best forms of fat that could 
be taken into the system. Nuts will form a perfect substitute for 
meat. Those which are ripened in the sun, are, however, of more value 
than those, like the peanut, ripened underground. 

CHILDREN VERSUS PIGS. 

It has been said that our farmers give to their pigs the food best 
adapted to their children, while they give to their children that which 
would be more useful to the pigs ! Sad to say, this is often literally 
true. Buttermilk, often fed to the pigs, contains valuable nitrates and 
phosphates ; while butter, found on every table, though fattening, con- 
tains not a particle of brain— or muscle— building food. Entire wheat, 
including, as it does, the bran and outer crust of the grain, is rich in 
nitrates and phosphates; which are eliminated from the fine wheat 
flour. The following table of nutritious values prepared by Dr. J. EL 
Kellogg and published in his "Domestic Hygiene and Rational Medi- 
cine," is a helpful one: 



BEAUTY DIET. 93 



ARTICLES 



Bread 37 

Wheat Flour 15 

Barley Meal 15 

Oatmeal 15 

Eye Meal 15 

Indian Meal 14 

Eice 13 

Peas 8.3 

Beans 12.5 

Lentils 11.5 

Arrowroot 8 

Potato 75 

Sweet Potato 67.5 

Carrot 83 

Beet 83.5 

Parsnip 82 

Cabbage 94.4 

Turnip 91 

Sugar 5 

Treacle 23 

New Milk 86 

Cream 66 

Skim Milk 88 

Buttermilk 88 

Lean Beef 72 

Lean Mutton 72 

Veal 63 

Poultry 74 

Whitefish 78 

Salmon 77 

Entire Egg 74 

White of Egg 78 

Yolk of Egg 52 

Breadfruit 63 

Banana 74 

Date 33 

Acid 

Grape 80 

Apple 85 

Pear 84 

Peach 85 

Plum 82 

Mulberry 84.7 

Blackberry 86 

Cherry 75 

Apricot 85 

Gooseberry 85 

Strawberry 87 

Wild Strawberry 87 

Easpberry 86 

Wild Easpberry 83 

Currant 86 



Proteids 

or 
Albumen 


u 
es 

02 


Cao 


09 


GO 


Total 

Nutritive 

Elements 


8.1 


47.4 


3.6 


1.6 


2.3 


63 


10.8 


66.3 


4.2 


2 


1.7 


85 


6.3 


69.4 


4.9 


2.4 


2 


85 


12.6 


58.4 


5.4 


5.6 


3 


85 


8 


69.4 


3.7 


2 


1.8 


85 


11.1 


64.7 


0.4 


8.1 


1.7 


86 


6.3 


79.1 


0.4 


8.1 


0.5 


87 


23.8 


56.7 


2 


2.1 


2.1 


86.7 


30.8 


46.3 


2 


1.9 


3.5 


84.5 


25.2 


54 

82 


2 


2.6 


2.3 


86.1 
82 


2.1 


18.8 


3.2 


0.2 


0.7 


25 


1.5 


17 


10.2 


0.3 


2.6 


31.6 


1.3 


8.4 


6.1 


0.2 


1 


17 


1.5 


0.8 


10.5 




3.7 


16.3 


1.1 


9.6 


5.8 


0.5 


1 


18 


0.9 


4.1 






0.6 


5.6 


1.2 


5.1 


2.1 
95 

77 




0.6 


9 
95 

77 


4.1 




5.2 


3.9 


0.8 


14 


2.7 




2.8 


^6.7 


1.8 


34 


4 




5.4 


1.8 


0.8 


12 


4.1 




6.4 


0.7 


0.8 


12 


19.3 






3.6 


5.1 


28 


18.3 






4.9 


4.8 


28 


16.5 






15.8 


4.7 


37 


21 






3.8 


1.2 


26 


18.1 






2.9 


i 


22 


16.1 






5.5 


1.4 


23 


14 






10.5 


1.5 


26 


20.4 








1.6 


22 


16 






30.7 


1.3 


48 


3 


14 








17 


4.8 




19.6 


0.6 


0.8 


25.8 


9 




58 






67 


0.8 


0.5 


^3.8 




0.3 


15.4 


0.2 


2.7 


7.6 




0.3 


10.8 


0.2 


3.2 


7 




0.3 


10.7 


0.4 


6.3 


1.5 




0.4 


8.6 


0.2 


5.7 


3.6 




0.6 


10.1 


0.4 


2 


9 




0.5 


11.9 


0.5 


1.4 


4.4 




0.4 


6.7 


0.9 


2.3 


13 




0.6 


16.8 


0.8 


5.9 


1 




0.8 


8.5 


0.4 


0.9 


8 




0.3 


9.6 


0.3 


0.1 


7.2 




0.7 


8.3 


0.6 


0.2 


3.2 


0.7 


0.7 


5.4 


0.5 


1.7 


4.7 




0.5 


7.4 


0.5 


1.1 


3.6 




0.3 


5.5 


0.4 


0.3 


4.7 




0.5 


5.0 



94 BEAUTY DIET. 

A good proportion of food materials for the average woman is 
four ounces of proteids, four ounces of fats and sixteen ounces of 
starches and sugars. The selection of these must depend upon the 
individual constitution. 

FRUIT THE IDEAL FOOD. 

Not only do all fruits contain sufficient nitrogen to sustain life, 
but they are rich in carbonaceous elements. The sugar which abounds 
in them contributes both to animal heat and nervous force. Most fruits 
contain phosphates and alkalies, together with acids, which increase 
the solubility of the blood, causing it to flow through the whole system 
more readily. Fruit is, in short, the ideal food. Having a wide range, 
and freely produced by nature in nearly all climates, it is beginning 
to be appreciated as it never has been before. The increased demand 
is giving a wonderful impetus to its culture, and the production per 
acre far exceeds in value that of any other food product. From an 
economical standpoint alone, fruit should be the food of the world; 
but as a beauty-producer, woman should hail it as a gracious boon. 
No diet can equal it for this purpose. 

Oranges, eaten freely, especially the first thing in the mornings 
form the best of spring medicines. Eipe, raw apples are of benefit, 
whether eaten in the morning or at night. 

THE "GOLD AND LEAD" THEORY. 

There is an old saying that fruit is gold in the morning and lead 
at night. As a matter of fact, it is gold at both times, but should be 
eaten on an empty stomach, and not as a dessert, after the appetite 
is satisfied and the digestion is already sufficiently taxed. Fruit taken 
in the morning, before the fast of the night has been broken, is very 
refreshing, and in addition to its nutritive qualities, it serves as a 
stimulus to the digestive organs. Bananas, oranges, ripe apples and 
fresh berries are all excellent at this time. Fruit to be most valuable 
as an article of diet, should be ripe, sound, fresh, and in every way 
of good quality, and if possible should be eaten raw. Happy are those 



BEAUTY DIET. 95 

fortunate dwellers in the flower-bedecked tropics, who can eat their 
oranges directly from the trees ! But those who cannot, at least know 
the delights of the northern apple orchard. 

Instead of eating a plate of ham and eggs or bacon for breakfast, 
most people would do far better if they took some grapes, pears, or 
apples, fresh fruit as long as it is to be had, and after that they can 
fall back on stewed prunes, figs, etc. If only fruit of some sort formed 
an important item in their breakfast, women would generally feel 
brighter and stronger, and would have far better complexions than is 
the rule at present. 

A WISE DECISION. 

In any case, meat should be eaten sparingly. The beauty-seeker 
having the courage to give up its use altogether will be well repaid 
for the self-denial. Nuts and vegetable oils even in small quantities, 
with the great variety of cereals, fruits, vegetables, milk and eggs, 
will form a thoroughly nutritious and satisfying diet ; and, if the other 
habits are correspondingly sensible, the whole physique will be won- 
derfully improved. Meat always creates a more or less feverish condi- 
tion of the stomach, tending to produce unhealthy cravings for 
stimulants and for undue sexual excitement. All this can and should 
be avoided if beauty is to reach its perfect height, and woman is to 
realize in the fulness of joy what the "life abundant" shall mean 
to her. 



CHAPTER V. 

BEAUTY DIET, CONTINUED. 

Crimson Cereal Fruit Complexion Dish — Lemons for Insomnia — Fruit for Alcoholic Dis- 
ease — Chopped Dates — Acids for Biliousness — Hints to the Florid — Sick Headaches 
Do Not Beautify; Cut them Out — How to Overcome Constipation — Classified Foods — 
How to Cook Meats — Expert Cooking of Vegetables — Diet to Fatten — Diet to Reduce 
Flesh — The "Don't-Worry" Dinner. 

AT a sanitarium for wealthy invalids, where people go as much 
for their complexion as for more serious ills, they give the 
patients large dishes of oatmeal or other cereals, with freshly sliced 
strawberries laid in a thick layer over the top. The whole is now 
sweetened and eaten with a fork. 

A variation of this ideal beauty breakfast is a pint of strawberries 
well sweetened, but eaten without milk or cream. This should be 
followed by a cereal and a well cooked hot dish. 

Nor are strawberries the only product of spring that can be used 
for the beautifying of the complexion. The beneficial effects of spinach 
taken internally are well known. The woman who wants a complexion 
as clear as cream and as ripe as peaches should eat spinach. She 
should take it well cooked, without the addition of hard boiled eggs 
and without vinegar. Water-cress and all sorts of greens, not forget- 
ting the ever nutritious and delicious lettuce, should also be eaten in 
plenty. 

Lemons have countless uses, internal and external; but as we are 
dealing now only with the internal ones, it may be mentioned that 
lemon-juice as a seasoning makes an excellent substitute for vinegar. 
It is, in fact, far superior to vinegar in every respect. The raw egg 
and lemon tonic has already been mentioned; and lemonade is one of 
the most refreshing of drinks, whether taken hot, to subdue a chill, 

96 



BEAUTY DIET, CONTINUED. 97 

or prepared cold, as a remedy for overheating. It is peculiarly ef- 
fective in both cases. In ' ' My Summer in a Garden, ' ' the author gives 
a most alluring, if rather amusing word-picture of hoeing with a 
shaded arbor and glass of lemonade at the end of every row. Truly, 
that would be the luxury of work ! Lemonade is sometimes pleasingly 
varied by dropping a few ripe raspberries into each glass. 

CURE FOR WAKEFULNESS. 

Those troubled with insomnia will have dull, heavy eyes, which 
are certainly not beautiful. The wakefulness that comes from drink- 
ing strong tea or coffee can often be conquered by swallowing a dash 
of fresh lemon-juice from a quartered lemon placed in readiness on 
the bedside table and taken at the time you discover that sleep will 
not come. But our beauty-seekers will not long care to continue the 
tea and coffee habit. It does not pay. 

FRUIT VERSUS ALCOHOL. 

A fruit diet so purifies the blood that even the craving for alcoholic 
drinks has been known to disappear through this treatment alone. A 
writer in a European temperance journal calls attention to this fact. 
He says: "In Germany, a nation greatly in advance of other coun- 
tries in matters relative to hygiene, alcoholic disease has been success- 
fully coped with by dieting and natural curative agencies. I have 
said that the use of fresh fruit is an antidote for the drink craving, 
and this is true. 

"The explanation is simple. Fruit may be called nature's medi- 
cine. Every apple, every orange, every plum and every grape is a 
bottle of medicine. An orange is three parts water— distilled in 
nature's laboratory— but this water is rich in peculiar fruit-acids 
medicinally balanced, which are specially cooling to the thirst of the 
drunkard, and soothing to the diseased state of his stomach. An apple 
or an orange, eaten when the desire for 'a glass' arises, would gener- 
ally take it away, and every victory would make less strong eacb 
(recurring temptation. 



98 BEAUTY DIET, CONTINUED. 

i ' Once get the blood pure, and every time its pure nutrient stream 
bathes the several tissues of the body, it will bring away some impurity, 
and leave behind an atom of healthy tissue, until, in time, the drunk- 
ard shall stand up purified— in his right mind." 

If a fruit diet will make such a transformation as this, in a dis- 
eased and corrupted system, it is surely not too much to expect it to 
add health and beauty in generous measure, to the person of right 
habits. 

DATES AND TIGS. 

Neither of these fruits is used on the table or in cooking to anything 
like the extent which their merits deserve. Dates and figs cost no 
more than many of the fruits more commonly used, and they make a 
delightful change in the bill of fare. A few of either of these fruits, 
or a mixture of both, added to some of our commonest foods, will 
change both appearance and taste until they seem like something en- 
tirely new. A cupful of chopped dates mixed with apple sauce; date 
rice pudding, date bread, date gems, date puffs, fig custard, fig pud- 
dings, stuffed figs (with nuts), and countless other preparations, will 
suggest themselves to the ingenious experimenter. The result is not 
only a contribution to our fund of health and beauty, but also proves 
decidedly welcome as an addition to our table delicacies. 

DIET FOR BILIOUSNESS. 

Too much or too rich food will clog the system, producing bilious- 
ness. The effect on the complexion is to make it yellow and dark. Let 
the bilious avoid butter, gravy, pastry and fats of all kinds ; especially 
should they avoid sweets; eat acid fruits in abundance, use the lemon 
and egg tonic, but not force the appetite ; and if the stomach is trouble- 
some in the morning, it will generally prove soothing to take a cup 
of hot milk, hot lemonade, or hot water with a little barley or rice in 
it ; or plain hot water. Liquid foods are best. 

People who have too much color in the face should carefully avoid 
highly spiced, stimulating dishes, rich pastries, fatty foods, and hot, 
strongly flavored drinks, especially strong tea and coffee. 




MOTHER'S JOY 



— Oscar Begas 



"A mother's love — how sweet the name! What is a mother's love? A noble, pure, 
and tender flame enkindled from above, to bless a heart of earthly mold; an ardent love 
that ne'er grows eold, — this is a mother's love." 




JOYS OF SPRING 



— R. Beyschlag 



Spring is the season -when life begins anew. 

"If babes thus pure and priceless were to Christ — holy, indeed, the trust to whom 
they're given. Sacred are they." 



BEAUTY DIET, CONTINUED. 101 

Such persons will quickly realize the good effects of a light, plain 
diet, with fruit as its staple element. 

SICK HEADACHES. 

These, as all know, are far from beautifying. People who habitu- 
ally drink strong tea or coffee are often subject to these attacks, 
which are sure to trouble them if the accustomed beverage be omitted. 
Now, the way to overcome this difficulty is to persevere in the effort to 
give up tea and coffee altogether. It can be done if one will have a 
little courage. The first week or two of going without brings on the 
headaches, but after that, they disappear. Pork, pastry and spices are 
also frequent causes of sick headaches. Abstinence from these and 
from butter and other fats, and substitution of honey, milk, or fruit- 
juice will help on the cure. 

DOUGHY FOODS NOT GOOD. 

Pimples, blackheads, etc., are apt to result from indigestion, or 
constipation, which ailments are often caused by too free use of pastry, 
cakes, hot bread, or white flour bread. Hot buttered bread is particu- 
larly bad, since the melted butter with the warm bread forms a heavy, 
doughy mass impossible to digest. The same is true of griddle cakes. 
The hot bread, of whatever kind, is not dissolved in the stomach as it 
should be. Potatoes mashed with butter sometimes become soggy and 
indigestible for the same reason. All food of a heavy, soggy, pasty 
nature should be avoided. 

THE TWO-MEAL PLAN. 

Going for a time without the evening meal is often a great help 
in the cure of constipation. Instead of the third meal, substitute a 
cup of hot water, hot lemonade, or fruit-juice. 

Fat meats and dried or salted meats are all constipating; so is 

poultry. Eggs boiled, or eggs and milk combined in puddings often 

prove constipating to some. The same is true of dried beans, if cooked 

insufficiently, or with fat. Cheese, chocolate and cocoa are constipat- 
6 v. 



102 BEAUTY DIET, CONTINUED. 

ing to many. So are blackberries and raspberries; but many times 
none of these foods prove so when eaten in combination with other 
articles of diet that will themselves counteract the clogging tendency. 

DIET FOR CONSTIPATION. 

Drink plenty of water ; fruits of all kinds are good, ripe, unpeeled 
apples, especially; also lemons, oranges, figs, prunes, berries of all 
sorts, and tamarinds. The acids of fruits help by increasing the secre- 
tions of the intestines. Even the rinds and seeds are useful by distend- 
ing the bowels and increasing their peristaltic action. The kind of 
food taken greatly influences the action of the bowels. The food in 
this case needs to be bulky, and fruits and vegetables seem to meet the 
want. If fruit be made a regular part of every meal, and eaten plenti- 
fully between meals also, especially apples, this treatment alone will 
cure constipation. 

As to vegetables, tomatoes, peas, squash, asparagus, green corn, 
cauliflowers, rhubarb, lettuce, turnips, squash, lentils and greens are 
all good. Stewed rhubarb is especially to be recommended. 

Entire wheat bread, always advisable, is doubly so in the treat- 
ment of constipation, as the gluten in it is a specific for counteracting 
this trouble. Add to this that it builds up the bone and muscle, that 
it is much richer and pleasanter in flavor than the fine wheat flour, 
and that delicious toast, gems, puddings, even cakes, pies and griddle 
cakes (if one must have them) can be made from this flour, and it is 
easy to see why its use is becoming more general by sensible people 
everywhere as fast as they discover its merits. Rye, cornmeal, oat- 
meal and cracked wheat are also good in the cure of constipation. 

NEVER DRINK AT MEALS. 

It inclines one to eat too rapidly for the saliva to act, thus retard- 
ing digestion and causing constipation. Between meals is the proper 
time to drink. Tea is astringent; coffee also, besides being stimulat- 
ing, leading to reaction. Drinking a full glass of water the first thing 
in the morning is an excellent plan. Ofter this in itself will prove 



BEAUTY DIET, CONTINUED. 103 

a perfect remedy for constipation, and such a simple one that there 
is little excuse for its neglect. A little bran, perhaps a tablespoonful, 
can be stirred into the water with increased good results. A raw 
apple or an orange, eaten before breakfast, is also good. 

LAXATIVE AND CONSTIPATING FOODS. 

The following lists showing the principal articles under these heads, 
will prove convenient. 

Laxative.— Cracked and rolled wheat, entire wheat bread and gems, 
rye bread, mush made from entire wheat flour, or from cornmeal, or 
oatmeal, granula, bran gruel and jelly, fruit puddings, fruit pies with 
the crust made of ko nut (a vegetable oil), all fresh acid fruits, espe- 
cially apples; tropical fruits, like oranges, lemons, grape fruit, ban- 
anas, etc.; dried figs, French prunes and prunellas eaten raw, and 
stewed dried fruits; rhubarb, celery, asparagus, green peas, green 
corn, squash, cauliflower, onions, tomatoes, spinach, lentils, beets and 
raw cabbage. 

Constipating.— Hot bread, white bread, white crackers, pastry made 
of white flour and lard, bread rolls, dumplings, etc., made with baking 
powders, cake, all custard puddings, salt meat, salt fish, dried meats, 
dried fish, smoked meats, poultry, cheese, boiled milk, tea, coffee, coffee 
made from wheat, corn, barley, toast, etc., etc. 

Fresh fish, lean fresh meats, eggs, uncooked milk, barley and buck- 
wheat ordinarily have no marked action either way. 

Flatulence is sometimes caused by potatoes, cabbage, beans; by 
oatmeal, cornmeal and cracked wheat when not sufficiently cooked. 

WHEN FRUIT DISAGREES. 

Fruits contain every chemical constituent necessary to life. Many 
people believe and think that fruit does not agree with them; in such 
cases the trouble may be traced to abuse of the stomach resulting in 
its weakened condition, or to lack of judgment in selection, time of 
eating, and amount. Unripe fruit should never be eaten raw. 

Persistence in a fruit diet will soon result in a clearer vision, an 



104 BEAUTY DIET, CONTINUED. 

improved complexion, and an inclination for physical exercise, or men- 
tal ]abor. Less time will be required for sleep. Fatigue or thirst will 
hardly be experienced, and quick reaction will follow hours of toil. 

The most important food fruits are bananas, oranges, apples, figs, 
dates and prunes. 

COOKING DRIED FRUIT. 

All dried fruits should be soaked in clear water until the moisture 
lost in drying has been nearly replaced. Dried fruit should not be 
boiled, as boiling hardens the tissues, breaks up the fruit and changes 
its flavor and digestibility. All sugar required should be cooked with; 
the fruit. When prunes are cooked properly, they remain whole, and 
the juice is clear, the skin is tender, and the pulp soft and delicious. 

Cereals should not be soaked in cold water, but put to cook in boil- 
ing water at the outset. This keeps them from being stringy. They 
should not be stirred while cooking, as it makes them pasty, and there- 
fore indigestible. 

COOKING MEATSc 

When meats are used, roasting and broiling are the best methods 
of cooking them; more of the nutritive elements are thus preserved 
than in boiling. The frying pan should be literally abandoned; but if 
frying be done at all, the article should be plunged into hot fat and 
completely submerged, in a kettle, as this causes an outside layer to 
form at once, preserving the nutritive elements. 

COOKING VEGETABLES. 

Baking and boiling are best for vegetables. Oats, wheat, and corn 
require long, slow cooking. "All green top-ground vegetables, ' ' says 
Mrs. Borer, "should go over the fire in boiling salted water, be boiled 
a moment and then pushed back where they will simmer at 180 de- 
grees (Fahrenheit) until tender. Cabbage, cauliflower and their allies, 
and turnips should be clear and white ; green peas, beans and spinach 
a bright green. All white and underground vegetables should be cooked 
in boiling, unsalted water, the salt being added after, or when they 



BEAUTY DIET, CONTINUED. 105 

are partly cooked. Bice requires rapid boiling; the motion of the 
water washes apart the grains, that each may be soft, separate and 
dry. Potatoes should be kept at the boiling point from the beginning 
to the end of their cooking; drained when tender, sprinkled with salt, 
and dried uncovered over the fire. If green venegtables are wilted, 
they should be soaked for an hour or two in cold water." 

Cakes and pies should be reserved for rare holiday occasions, unless 
made from whole wheat flour. 

DIET TO INCREASE FLESH. 

Thin, nervous people, and all who wish to increase in flesh, may 
like to know that a dessert spoonful of olive oil, taken before each 
meal with a half glass of grape juice, is decidedly fattening. So is 
pure milk, especially new milk with the cream still on it. Or, a raw 
egg taken at night, with a dash of pepper, salt and lemon juice. Here 
is a list of foods which are suitable : 

Bread.— Entire wheat bread, gluten bread. 

Milk.— Cream, buttermilk, ice cream. 

Graham mush, oatmeal mush with cream and sugar. 

Soups.— Of all kinds, eaten hot at the beginning of a meal, seasoned 
with plenty of celery, onions or parsley. 

Puddings.— Light pudding, farina, rice, tapioca, cornstarch, sago, 
with cream and sugar. 

Fruits.— Qi all kinds. Eaten with sugar. 

All liquids except the soup should be drunk between meals. Drink 
plenty of good water without ice. Eat slowly, moderate quantities. 

Vegetables.— Spinach, peas, beans, baked potatoes, lettuce with olive 
oil and lemon juice. 

Meats.— Mutton, beef, chicken, oysters, fish, eggs. 

Coffee and Teas.— Sparingly. Chocolate. 

This regimen should soon cause the hollows to fill out and the 
rounded curves to make their appearance. 



106 BEAUTY DIET, CONTINUED. 

DIET TO REDUCE FLESH. 

Very corpulent people are not strong, vigorous, or beautiful. The 
causes of this condition are heredity, excess of sweets, fine flour, sugar, 
potatoes, pastry, fats, or creams. Avoid all starchy and sweetened 
food as much as possible. 

Diet,— Bread made from the entire wheat flour; beef, mutton, 
tongue, all kinds of fish, oysters, raw or cooked without flour; lettuce, 
onions, asparagus, cold slaw, celery, string beans, sour apples, 
peaches, strawberries, without cream or sugar, coffee and tea in 
moderation. Eat slowly, in moderate quantities, and take as little 
liquid as possible at meals. Water may be taken between meals, in 
moderation. Oranges are the best of all the fruits. 

DIET FOR VIGOROUS WORKERS. 

People who do much bodily labor should eat lean meat, cheese, 
beans, peas, lentils, etc.; but meat sparingly, strictly fresh, and well 
done, but not overdone. Avoid dried and salt meats. They have no 
value. Do not eat when exhausted, but rest briefly first. 

DON'T WORRY AT MEALS. 

Never permit yourself to eat in an anxious or unpleasant mood; 
it causes dyspepsia. Pleasant cheerful topics of conversation should 
be the rule at table. 

DINE AT MID-DAY. 

Dinner, or the heartiest meal, is better taken in the middle of the 
day than at night, though in the city this is not easily managed. Coun- 
try households have the advantage in this respect. The evening meal 
should be light. Eich, pasty and highly spiced foods are to be avoided 
by all beauty-seekers as well as by those especially afflicted or who 
value health for its own sake. 



CHAPTER VI. 

BEAUTY BATHS. 

World Famous Beauties — Borax and Oil — Charm of Cleanliness — A Skin Like Velvet- 
Baths Improve Form and Features — Dignity of Skin-Functions — The Great Ally of 
the Lungs — Two and a Quarter Millions of Glands — Bathing Rules — Tonic and Ex- 
hilarating Effects — The Glow of Reaction — Corpulent People — The Daily Sponge-Bath 
— The Forty Degree Rule — Swimming — Sea Bathing — Ammonia — Medicated Baths — 
Special Beauty Bath — The Bran-Bag — Cleansing Effect of Vinegar — Oil Bath for Thin 
People — Air and Sun Baths — Earth Cure Bath — Foot-Baths — Sitz-Baths — " Sleep 
Bath" for the Weakly — Making a Bath Cabinet — The Turkish Bath at Home — Re- 
ducing the Abdomen. 

THE bath is nature's sweet restorer. I know of no diseases in which 
the bath is not salutary or beneficial; a luxury to the well and 
a curative to the sick, and a preventive of disease. It equalizes the 
nerve forces to body and mind, improves the appetite, increases flesh 
on the lean if followed by oil rubbing, reduces flesh in the corpulent; 
to the sleepless it restores sleep, brightens the eye, prevents prema- 
ture aging and clears the complexion. 

If you read carefully the history of famous beauties who won 
scepters and swayed kingdoms by the power of their physical perfec- 
tions, you will see that the beauty of the body can be increased by 
means of the bath. In these days of frequent bathing one of the im- 
portant things to know is that hard water is fatal to the beauty and 
smoothness of the skin or complexion. 

USE SOFT WATER. 

The beauties who are careful of their complexions avoid hard 
water for bathing as they would a pestilence. They use powdered 
borax in their bath, even with rainwater, and if there is any doubt 
about obtaining it they carry it with them. In sleeping cars they use 
it, and in their daily bath they consider it a necessity. The Romans 

107 



108 BEAUTY BATHS. 

believed in using oils, and after the rainwater bath they added all 
kinds of essence and perfumes to impart a beauty to the skin and 
a fragrant charm to the body. They also believed in massaging and 
rubbing after their bath, and they used cocoanut oil where the skin 
had the least tendency to dryness or irritation. 

A CHARM UNIVERSALLY FELT. 

Personal cleanliness is something instinctively praised by all, even 
those who do not practice it. The religious rites of some nations have 
from time immemorial included the most elaborate ceremonial wash- 
ings of the body as a symbol of the soul 's purification. Frequent bath- 
ing is practiced among the Orientals, and some European nations, 
notably the French, are more attentive to the demands of the bath 
than are the Americans; yet our own nation is improving in this re- 
spect. The habit is a mark of good-breeding, a test of politeness, and 
of fitness for social intercourse. In itself cleanliness is a great at- 
traction; it increases every other charm possessed by the individual, 
and adds countless new ones. Beauty of feature or of form becomes 
utterly repulsive when not accompanied by cleanliness. No neglected 
skin can long remain either healthy or beautiful ; but a daily bath will 
in a short time make the skin like velvet, if the diet has been properly 
selected. 

Nor is this the only benefit. All the vital organs are affected 
through the skin, and by keeping it in a healthy condition the circula- 
tion of the blood, the action of the kidneys and bowels and all the di- 
gestive processes are promoted, many diseases warded off, and the 
assimilation of food greatly aided; so that not only the skin, but the 
form and features also, share in the good results. 

MORE THAN A PROTECTIVE COVERING. 

It is both an incorrect and unworthy view of this great organ, the 
skin, to regard is simply as a protective covering of the body. It is 
much more— a living, sensitive, breathing, exhaling, absorbing, ex- 



BEAUTY BATHS. 109 

creting, eliminating membrane of exquisite structure and endowments. 
Here many of the prime operations of life take place. 

The skin may truly be called a great appendage to the heart and 
lungs, being a co-worker with them in the circulation of the blood. It 
does for the larger or systematic capillary circulation what the lungs . 
do for the smaller, or pulmonary circulation. It not only rids the 
blood of carbon and supplies it with oxygen, but regulates its density 
by evaporating the watery constituents. The skin is the great drying, 
draining and ventilating apparatus of the body; it is in itself a uni- 
versally expanded lung, kidney, liver, heart and bowels, and the great- 
est medium of nervous and vascular expansion ; therefore the seat of 
thrilling sensibilities, and exquisite tactile endowments, 

ACTION OF THE SKIN. 

The importance of frequent bathing is appreciated when we re- 
member that the waste elements of the food and of the whole body 
are constantly being thrown off by the skin to the extent of from one 
pound to five pounds every twenty-four hours, the amount varying 
according to the temperature and moisture of the air, the work done, 
and the quality of food and drink taken. Nature has four methods 
of cleansing the body of waste material; through the lungs, the kid- 
neys, the lower bowel, and the skin, with its two and a quarter millions 
of glands just beneath the surface, the external openings of which are 
the pores. There are about three thousand of these glands to the 
square inch. The oil-glands are intended to keep the skin in a healthy 
condition, the perspiratory glands also have their work to perform: 
and the skin-texture itself is being continually renewed, the dried scarf- 
skin peeling of! in minute fragments as the new is being formed. Hence 
from all three sources the waste matter gathers to be evaporated, 01 
absorbed by the clothing, or re-absorbed into the body. Unless this 
waste is removed, the oil will clog the pores and the impurity from the 
perspiratory glands, unable to escape, will be carried by the blood to 
the lungs, thus causing disease. Hence the importance of frequent 



110 BEAUTY BATHS. 

bathing, winter as well as summer, and whether the waste matter be- 
comes noticeable or not. 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 

Do not bathe when chilly, nor when greatly exhausted. The body 
should be warm and the room warm. 

A bath should not be taken within two hours after eating, nor just 
before. The best times are on rising, on retiring, and midway between 
meals. Do not remain long in the water. Bathe quickly, rub vigor- 
ously, dress and exercise. 

For purposes of cleanliness a bath without soap and friction is 
entirely useless ; and warm water is more effective than cold. A daily 
sponge bath, and a full warm bath with plenty of soap twice a week, 
will suffice to keep the glands in a healthy condition. When soap is 
not used, the bath will not be cleansing, but it may be tonic, or exhilarat- 
ing in its effects. Persons of full habit should bathe more frequently 
than thin, nervous people ; but the average woman will find the taking 
of two warm baths a week, on retiring, and a cold sponge bath daily, on 
rising, a good rule for general health purposes. 

HOW TO OBTAIN A REACTION. 

Cold or hot baths are followed by a glow of warmth not experienced 
after bathing in lukewarm water. This reaction is most desirable in 
all baths. Either cold or heat, if of sufficient degree, will produce it. 
A small surface, when wet, readily reacts. Therefore, if you are not 
strong, bathe and dry each portion as you proeeed, until the whole body 
has thus been gone over. 

THE PLUNGE BATH. 

A cold plunge bath has a powerfully invigorating effect on the 
nervous system, and helps to guard against taking cold, but it is too 
severe a shock for any except the robust. To such, it is sometimes 
helpful in obesity, insomnia, etc.; but is likely in many cases to do 
more harm than good. It should not last over ten seconds ; should be 
taken only after vigorous exercise, and be followed by brisk rubbing. 



BEAUTY BATHS. Ill 

A fresh water plunge is customary after sea-bathing, but the spray or 
shower-bath answers the same purpose. 

THE HOT BATH. 

This is not so severe a strain as the cold plunge. Have the room 
hot, and water as hot as it can be borne, increasing the heat as the 
body can endure it. Spray with tepid, cool, and finally with cold 
water; rub briskly, and then rest after the bath, else half its benefits 
are lost. Corpulent people should take very hot baths two or three 
times a week, finishing with cold water each time. 

THE SPONGE BATH. 

In first forming the habit of the daily sponge bath, if water entirely 
cold gives too severe a shock, begin with tepid water, but cool it grad- 
ually, as it is important to obtain the reaction producing a glow, and 
this will not be accomplished until the water is used cold. With sponge 
or wash cloth, wrung out of cool water, rub quickly a part of the body 
at once, drying as you proceed, until the whole body has been thus 
sponged and dried. A vigorous final rub with the Turkish towel will 
make you feel like new. This bath equalizes the circulation of the 
blood. To exercise in the open air following it is a good plan. 

DON'T BATHE IN ICE-COLD WATER! 

Speaking of cold baths, we may take note of a popular error as to 
what this means. The temperature of the body is always a little under 
Due hundred degrees. If, then, in summer, a bath at sixty degrees (or 
torty degrees below that of the body) is considered cold, and gives 
the desired amount of reaction, it will do the same in winter; and to 
insist on plunging into water still colder than that is, to say the least, 
unreasonable. The cold bath, then, is one at forty degrees below the 
temperature of the blood, and is the same in January as in July. To 
bathe in water from which the ice is broken, as some do, is a result of 
misunderstanding or folly, and may be followed by dangerous conse- 
quences. 



112 BEAUTY BATHS. 



TEMPERATURE OF BATHS. 



A temperate bath ranges from 75 degrees to 85 degrees Fahren- 
heit ; a warm bath from 95 to 98 ; a hot bath from 98 to 105. 

SWIMMING AND SEA BATHING. 

Two hours after breakfast is the best time for out-door bathing. 
Et should not be indulged in when much fatigued, when fasting, or 
soon after a full meal. These points carefully avoided, the glow of 
moderate exercise is a decided advantage. Swimming is a good ac- 
complishment for women. There is a general tendency among those 
who enjoy out-door bathing to remain in the water too long. Half an 
hour is ample for all the benefit that can be derived from such a 
swim, and a longer time in the water is apt to be distinctly injurious. 

Sea-bathing is delightful, and of great benefit to many, whether 
swimmers or not, if moderation be observed. Out-door bathing of 
any kind should be indulged in only in warm weather, and in water 
that has been exposed to the sun's rays. Salt water for out-door 
bathing is much more beneficial than fresh. One seldom takes cold 
after it, and it is more invigorating, not only to the skin, but to the 
nervous system. It is good both in health and disease. 

AMMONIA BATHS FOR HOT WEATHER. 

A good idea, especially in summer and in warm climates, is to 
sponge the body with water which contains a small amount of ammonia, 
or other alkali. The ammonia combines with the oil or grease thrown 
out by the sebaceous glands of the skin, forming a soap whicn is easily 
removed with warm water, leaving the pores open, and thus promoting 
health and comfort. 

IN-DOOR SALT BATHS. 

By adding a pound of rock salt to every four gallons of tepid 
water, a refreshing and invigorating substitute for the regular sea 
bath may be obtained. Another way is to sponge the body with cold 
water from a basin to which a handful of salt has been added; after- 



BEAUTY BATHS. 113 

wards rubbing till a warm glow is produced. This helps to correct a 
sluggish circulation. But I would especially warn my beauty-loving 
readers that these salt baths, while an excellent tonic, are drying and 
hardening to the skin. If indulged in to excess they would cause a 
person to age rapidly in appearance. 

MEDICATED BATHS. 

Medicate the water with powdered hydrastus, two drams, make 
the water comfortably warm when getting into it. Add more and 
more hot water until perspiration is free; rub the body well with a 
flesh brush. This bath is indicated when the person feels depleted and 
has no appetite ; it is a tonic all over to bruised sore feelings all over 
the body. 

SPECIAL BEAUTY TREATMENT. 

The daily warm bath, properly taken, is indispensable to the woman 
who would be beautiful. It should be taken preferably just before re- 
tiring. Eestful sleep is one of the benefits gained. Colds are not 
liable to result; the people who thus bathe are in fact less subject to 
colds than others. Neither is the warm water too relaxing,- unless 
one remains in it too long. Fifteen to twenty minutes is long enough. 
Have the bath just comfortably warm, and follow it by a tepid or 
cold spray, or shower-bath, or by a final washing over with a little 
distilled water, either alone, or combined with rose-water, orange- 
flower water or three or four ounces of glycerine. This gives a delight- 
ful softness and delicacy to the skin. 

THE BRAN BATH. 

This is another which has proved especially beautifying in its ef- 
fects. When the skin is rough or easily irritated, put enough bran in 
the water to make it milky. A good way is to take two quarts of bran 
for a full bath-tub, tie or sew it up in a bag of cheesecloth, or other 
thin material, and use in the bath. These bran bags can be obtained 
at the druggist's, perfumed and filled with soap, but it is better to 
make them one's self. 



114 BEAUTY BATHS. 

After the usual soaking process, go over the entire surface of the 
body, pushing and rubbing off the dried and loosened skin, which will 
come off in little rolls. Then scrub all over with a Turkish toweling 
bath mitten, or a Turkish bath brush, till the whole surface is rosy. 
Eeturn to the tub for a final rinsing process, letting the water run 
until it gradually becomes cold. Dry with a Turkish towel. As bran 
is an emollient, this bath will tend to smoothness of skin and delicacy 
of complexion. 

THE VINEGAR BRUSH BATH. 

A solution should be prepared of one part acetic acid or strong 
vinegar to two parts water, comfortably hot. Saturate a wash cloth 
with this and rub with a circular movement all over the body, until a 
dark substance appears on the surface of the skin, having been drawn 
out through the pores. Then wash off with warm water and soap; 
dry well. Take a flexible flesh brush, or a piece of burlap, and brush 
the entire surface of the body with it. The soles of the feet, in par- 
ticular, should be brushed well. Eest after this bath, and it will be 
found most helpful. 

BATHING WITH OIL. 

One of the best of beauty baths, delightful in its effects on the skin 
and the whole system, is the olive oil bath. It cleanses the pores from 
all foreign matter, invigorates and nourishes the skin and tissues, is 
very soothing and strengthening to weak constitutions and is espe- 
cially good for thin people. Slender, nervous people are liable to give 
off their magnetic force too freely and become especially depleted if 
they use water baths alone. We endorse for such a rubbing with pure 
olive oil twice or three times a week in a warm room; the hot water 
bath with good soap and friction followed with olive oil is necessary 
for cleanliness and suppleness of the body. Swimmers who spend 
a good deal of time in water should oil themselves, as fatty elements 
are non-conductors. The nude races are in the habit of oiling or greas- 
ing the skin, by which method they keep it soft and pliable. 

Saturate a small piece of flannel with oil, or pour a little in the 



BEAUTY BATHS. 115 

pafrn of the hand, and rub it thoroughly into the flesh, taking a part 
of the body at a time, and afterwards rub well with a Turkish towel. 

This bath is of benefit at any time, though best taken after an ordi- 
nary warm water bath, and drying. 

AIR BATHING. 

Any time of day is right for this kind of bath. It is taken by ex- 
posing the body, or a part of it, to the air, meanwhile rubbing vigor- 
ously the portion exposed with a coarse towel. The Turkish towel is 
best for this, or any similar purpose, where friction is desired. The 
rubbing should be continued until one is warm all over. This also is a 
good daily treatment for thin people; and as it adds oxygen to the 
system through the pores of the skin, it is most invigorating to all. 

THE SUN BATH. 

Imagine yourself a plant, and give yourself the benefit of a good 
sun bath occasionally, whether you are weak or strong. Such a bath 
should be taken at or near noon, in a room well warmed and exposed to 
the full rays of the sun. Throw a blanket over a stool, place it in the 
sunshine and sit upon it without clothing or covering of any kind, for 
a half hour, turning occasionally, so that the direct rays of the sun 
can reach every portion of the body ? s surface. You will find this helr> 
ful in a double sense, for it includes a certain amount of added oxygen, 
as in the air bath, while the sun's rays are a powerful nerve tonic. 
In fact, 

THE POWER OF SUNLIGHT BATHS 

to develop beauty and strength is not appreciated as it should be. 
Free exposure of the body to the sun and air is found to give a higher 
grade of beauty than all the cosmetics and powders in the world. It 
gives to the skin a soft, velvety appearance; it gives rose tints to the 
complexion, elasticity to the motions, comeliness of form and vivacity 
of manners; makes the eyes bright and sparkling; makes the com- 
plexion pure and free from eruptions and prevents all growth of 
tumors. 



116 BEAUTY BATHS. 

ORIENTAL BATH. 

Seek the sunniest room in the house or attic, remove all clothing, 
stand or sit perfectly nude or lie down before a south window or an 
east or west window, at the time of day when the sun shines brightest. 
Eemain quiet, free the mind from all fear or worry, breathe softly 
and centre your mind on the most beautiful thing you can think of. 
If constipated rub the bowels in circular motion from right to left, 
and from left to right if bowels are loose. Cover the window, the 
lower part, to protect the body from view, with the thinnest cheese- 
cloth or any thin substance. Eub the body in circular movements with 
the hand and rub dry with a Turkish towel. 

Those who take the sun and air bath in this manner gain such vital 
power that they can endure the greatest heat or cold with impunity. 
Duration of bath from thirty minutes to an hour or more. 

EARTH CURE BATH. 

Covering the body with sun charged sand is both purifying and 
vitalizing. Dry earth is good for ulcers ; and it is refreshing to tired, 
aching or burning feet, to sit for a half -hour with them buried in a 
pan of moist sand. (See "Care of the Hands and Feet.") 

THE FOOT-BATH. 

Taken warm, this is very quieting to the nervous system and often 
relieves headache. A good remedy for cold feet is the hot and cold 
foot-bath. Fill two foot tubs with water deep enough to cover the ankle 
joint; have one as hot as can be borne, the other very cold. Place the 
feet in the hot water three minutes, then in the cold one-half second. 
Alternate in this way until the feet feel hot and the whole body is in a 
glow. Wipe the feet dry, then rub well with a circular motion. This 
treatment establishes warm feet, soothes the nerves and improves the 
general health. 

No cure can be established in any part of the body until the feet 
become permanently warm. 




MORNING PRAYER 



-E. Munier 



Prayer is an elevation of the soul to God. When the rays of the morning: sun warm 
the air and give assurance of another day, all nature gives thanks and rejoices. 




BOTH FALLEN ASLEEP 



-Knut Ekwall 



Weary with play, the little toiler and his faithful companion surrender to sleep. The 
father smiles genially and lovingly, and the mother with a warning sign of her hand 
not to wake them, looks on with a maternal eye — serious and admiring. 



BEAUTY BATHS. 119 

THE SITZ-BATH. 

For this, an ordinary wash tub, if good-sized, will answer the pur- 
pose, though a regular sitz-bath is better. "When this bath is used 
as a tonic the water should be cold and the bather remain in it for 
five, ten, or even fifteen minutes. In beginning, however, the water 
should be warm, and the time not over one to five minutes; the water 
being gradually cooled and the time extended as one becomes able to 
endure. 

THE BED-BATH. 

For all cold-blooded, weakly persons, this is excellent. Wring a 
towel lightly out of cold water, place by the bedside, and after you are 
in bed and thoroughly warm, pass the wet towel over the entire body, 
if you are able to bear it, or over a portion, if not, under the bed-cloth- 
ing. The heat of the body turns the water into steam, which, in being 
thus drawn out, takes any fever with it, thus promoting sleep, while 
the steam enveloping you softens and cleanses the skin. This is mani- 
festly far better than no bath at all in cases where the water and air 
cannot be borne at the same time. This wet towel application can 
also be made when any pain exists. Let the towel lie on the afflicted 
part all night. It soon becomes hot, drawing out the fever and the 
pain with it. 

HOW TO MAKE A BATH CABINET. 

Such an appliance is a fine thing, either in health or illness. It is 

made with a square frame large enough to enclose a grown person 

when sitting on an ordinary chair. This frame is covered with canvas 

tightly stretched and closely tacked in place, and there are hinges so 

that it may be folded up when not in use. The top also is covered with 

the canvas, through which a hole is cut to allow the head to project. 

When children are put into the cabinet a footstool in the chair raises 

them to the proper height. A little oil stove placed in the cabinet and 

lighted, and a teakettle full of water boiling upon it soon induces a 

perspiration equal tc that produced by the finest Turkish bath that 
7 v. 



120 BEAUTY BATHS. 

was ever given. This is followed by an alcohol rub, or a sponge bath 

of cool water and salt, or other treatment to meet the case. Both 

beauty and health will be greatly promoted by the massage treatment; 

described in the next section. Be careful to keep the head cool by 

means of cold applications while in the cabinet. There is nothing more 

restful after a hard day's work than a three minute sweat in this 

cabinet, followed by a cool sponge bath and a brisk rub with a coarse 

towel. It is especially helpful in cases of rheumatism, fever, and blood 

di spases 

VAPOR BATH WITHOUT CABINET. 

If you have not even a bath cabinet, you can still take a most luxu- 
rious and beneficial bath similar in its effects to the regular Turkish 
bath. You will need an assistant. A chair with a wooden seat, a foot- 
tub, an old coffee cup and a little alcohol, with some flannel blankets, 
are all that is necessary. 

Place a piece of flannel blanket in the chair, folded so as to hang 
down in front, fill the foot-tub with warm water for the feet, placing 
it in front of the chair; put the cup, one-third full of alcohol, under 
the chair, and after completely disrobing, seat yourself in the chair. 
The attendant should then put one blanket over you in front, another 
around you outside the back of the chair. Then she should light the 
alcohol with a taper, not a match, as it will blaze up quickly and is 
likely to burn the fingers. With your feet in the hot water and the 
blankets around you, in five minutes or less the alcohol burning under 
the chair may be expected to produce a fine perspiration. If there is 
a sense of dizziness or fullness in the head, it can be relieved by plac- 
ing about the neck a cloth wrung out of cold water. 

Eemain in this bath for ten or fifteen minutes. A sponging over 
with cool or cold water, and a thorough massage, are the concluding 
processes. Neither should be omitted. Every muscle of the body 
should be firmly pressed, pinched, squeezed, and the entire surface of 
the body rubbed and slapped with the finger tips to produce a glow. 
There is no resulting sensitiveness to cold, after such a bath. Indeed, 



BEAUTY BATHS. 121 

the reverse is true. If the cool sponging and massage have been thor- 
ough, one can go out immediately after it without the least danger; 
and it is one of the best cures for a heavy cold ever known. 

BATH TO REDUCE AND STRENGTHEN THE ABDOMEN. 

Many ladies are troubled by an undue prominence of the abdomen. 
This condition is caused by a flabby state of the muscles which per- 
mits settling of the tissues and organs. My own treatment in such 
cases is as follows: 

Bathe with soap and very hot water, applying friction to the abdo- 
men with a Turkish bath brush and wash cloth, rubbing with a circu- 
lar motion, especially from right to left. Then gradually cool the 
water until cold; renew the friction with the cold water, rubbing in 
the same way as with the hot. This is very effectual; and certain 
exercises given in the eleventh chapter will also be found useful for 
this purpose. 



CHAPTER VII. 

A BREATH OF AIR. 

Do You Breathe? — Poisoned Life Cells — The Pure Sleeping-Soorn — Live a Full Life — Six 
Hundred Millions of Lung-Cells — Thirty-five Thousand Pints of Blood Every Day— 
Deep Breathers are Magnetic — Secret of Sex-Attraction — Fear the Great Roboer — 
Males are Half; Females are Quarter-Breathers — Breathing the Deliverance from 
Consumption — Get that Extra Curve in Your Back — The Voice that Kings — "Ten 
Times Ten" — Hindu Breathing — Breathe Like a Horse — Develop Lungs and Chest — 
Don't Be "Blue-Blooded" — Five Breathing Exercises — How to Let Go — Cure for 
"The Blues"— The "Door-Fan"— The Three Fowls— Open Air Life— Outdoor Games 
—Health is "Catching." 

WHEN God created man, and "breathed into his nostrils the 
breath of life, ' ' man was expected thereafter to do the breath- 
ing for himself. With oxygen supplied by nature in abundance for 
that express purpose, there is little need of lung- starvation within 
reach of an outer door or window. Yet it is an astonishing fact that 
thousands of people, women especially, persist in starving their lung- 
cells, impoverishing their blood and laying the foundations of disease 
by breathing foul, suffocating air during a large portion of their wak- 
ing, and sometimes all through their sleeping hours. 

Air is a part of our daily food, and by far the most important part, 
the purity of the blood depending on it. A noted writer says, ' t On the 
day of judgment God will perhaps pardon you for starving your chil- 
dren when bread was dear, but if Pie should charge you with stinting 
them of His free air, what answer will you make?" Every day is a 
judgment day, and 

THEEE IS NO ESCAPE. 

To breathe in poison is to build it into every tiny life-cell, till even 
the thoughts are permeated with it, and the mental and spiritual re- 
flect the physical condition, for each reacts on the other. 

It would be a blessing if a crusade could be started against close 

122 



A BEEATH OF AIR. 123 

and stifling rooms. In the modern city apartment buildings there is 
still an appalling number of rooms lighted and aired only from 
"shafts," those abominations which ought to be banished forever from 
twentieth century civilization. Even the air-shafts, however, are bet- 
ter than the hermetically sealed sleeping rooms of some country homes 
where the windows, one might almost suspect, are nailed down in the 
fall and kept so until spring. It seems incredible, but there still are 
people who mistake cold air for pure air, and because a room is not 
heated, conclude that it needs no airing. 

Sleeping rooms, however, should have plenty of sunshine and pure 
air, and open windows should be the rule, and not the exception. If 
your window will not open from the top, it is not a bad plan to tack a 
strip of cretonne or other material across the lower part, so that it 
can be opened from the bottom without making too strong and direct 
a current upon those unaccustomed to it. In such ways one can grad- 
ually train one's self to sleep with open windows. This practice, com- 
bined with a rapid, cold sponge bath, daily, will make any person 
totally proof against "taking cold," that is, provided the food be 
wholesome, the exercise and rest taken regularly, and the mind kept 
free from undue excitement and worry, which in themselves are often 
sufficient to bring on feverish, catarrhal, or neuralgic conditions. 

VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL BREATHING. 

Throughout all nature the breath is the life. In flowers, trees, the en- 
tire world of vegetation, we find the breathing process going on, through 
the leaves, or other parts corresponding to the lungs in animals. Keep 
a plant in a close room where there is a frequent escape of certain 
gases, and see how quickly it droops. Plants differ from animals in 
their use of the air elements, however, for they inhale carbonic acid 
gas and exhale oxygen. But the breathing process is alike essential 
to plant and animal life ; and deep breathing brings health and power. 

Those who only half breathe, only half live. Lovers are instinctively 
deep, rapid breathers; and the more the love-faculty is rightly exer- 



124 



A BREATH OF AIR. 



cised, the more healthfully active does the breathing become. Did you 
never notice how even in meeting a friend on the street unexpectedly, 
your breathing quickens and deepens from the pleasure of the occur- 
rence 1 

To keep any fire burning brightly, the air must have access to it; 

for when the supply of oxygen is dimin- 
ished, the fire dies down. So with the 
fires of human life; there must be oxy- 
gen in abundance if they are to be kept 
burning brightly. 

Air is composed of 21 parts of oxy- 
gen to 78 of nitrogen ; the small 
fraction remaining being car- 
bonic acid gas, which helps to 
sustain vegetation. Exactly 
these proportions are always 
found in the outer air. Oxygen, 
therefore, abounds wherever 
man can go. 

OUR WONDERFUL BREATHING 
MECHANISM. 

Occupying most of the chest 
and composed of five lobes, 
three on the right side and two 
on the left, enveloping the 
heart, we find those most won- 
derful of structures, the lungs. 
The tree-like mechanism by 
which the air is conducted to 
them, is called the trachea, or windpipe ; and it branches into each lung- 
hemisphere, then rebranches again and again, into each lobe and finally 
into air cells smaller and smaller, six hundred millions in number. 
Blood cells also pass to the lungs, traveling side by side with the air 




THE HEART AND LUNGS. 

Showing the wall of the diaphragm. 



A BREATH OF AIR. 129 

cells. Thirty-five thousand pints of blood, it is estimated, pass daily 
through the capillaries of the lungs, to be vitalized by contact with 
the oxygen. 

The main body of the lungs is of a fine gauze-like membrane, con- 
taining from fifteen to twenty thousand square inches. This curious 
membrane is so folded as to provide a large surface in a small space, 
and to form a partition between the air cells and the blood cells which 
acts much like a strainer ; keeping the air and the blood each in their 
separate cells, yet allowing the gases to pass through. The lungs must 
be filled with air and emptied from eight to fourteen times per minute 
during the entire life. How is this done? 

By a broad, dome-shaped muscle called the diaphragm, dividing 
the heart and lungs above from the stomach, liver and other organs 
below, fastened only at its lower edges, and formed so as to expand and 
contract with great elasticity. When it contracts, flattening down- 
wards, the vacuum thus caused allows the air to rush in, inflating the 
lower part of the lungs. Muscles between the ribs lift them outwards, 
and cause a similar vacuum inviting the air into the upper part of the 
lungs ; and it always responds to these invitations. 

FROM AIR-CELLS TO BLOOD-CELLS. 

It is the great affinity of oxygen for iron that enables it to enter 
into the blood as it does. The red globules of the blood contain iron, 
which attracts the oxygen so that it rushes through the thin membrane 
which separates air-cells from blood-cells, and the two elements, oxygen 
and iron, unite, vitalizing the blood and imparting new life and vigor. 

MAGNETIC BREATHING. 

Electricity, that vital force with which the oxygen is heavily 
charged, is thus introduced into the blood, and permeates the entire 
body. Now, electro-magnetism teaches that certain objects charged 
with electricity are full of magnetism ; they attract. Hence we learn 
that deep breathing immensely increases the magnetic force, or at- 



126 A BEEATH OF AIR. 

tracting power, besides promoting the general health and enjoyment 
of life. 

Would you test the truth of this? Fill the lungs full, in taking a 
deep breath, so that the breath expands the abdomen as well as the 
upper part of the chest. Take in, and pass out, with every breath, all 
the air possible, without actual strain. Keep this up vigorously for 
several minutes. You will soon feel a tingling sensation reaching to 
the very toes and finger-tips. It is the rush of oxygen, with its electric 
fluid, making its way through the blood to every part of the nervous 
system. 

SECEET OF SEX-MAGNETISM. 

That marvelous power which draws to its possessor whatever is 
most desired, and impels men and women to find mutual pleasure, 
profit and stimulus in each other's society, is nothing more nor less 
than correct breathing, which vitalizes the nerve-centers and causes 
them to become magnetic. The solar plexus, you will remember, is 
the great nerve-center from which radiates the personal aura, or mag- 
netic atmosphere, giving to its possessor, when well-developed, the 
power of accomplishing what the will directs; and where this power 
is never used for a wrong purpose it is a veritable enchanter's wand, 
to bring blessings to the lives of others as well as to the woman who 
has learned to wield it. How often we hear it said that a man or 
woman has accomplished this difficult work or achieved that desired 
end " because of a strong personality!" This simply means, a strong, 
wide-aivake solar plexus. 

In the great majority of people, the solar plexus is more than 
half asleep, and those persons are the ones who are always subject to 
the aura, the influence, of strong personalities. They are made to feel 
uncomfortable, nervous, inferior, in the presence of these others to 
whom they may be really superior in all respects except the control 
of this magnetic aura. "Would not such give the world to know how 
to escape this bondage, and as far as is right and desirable, control 
people and circumstances instead of being controlled by them? 



A BEEATH OF AIR. 127 



THE PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF FEAR. 



What the sun is to the solar system, the solar plexus is to the human 
body. Light, life and heat are dependent upon it; its office being to 
transmute the sun's rays into magnetism, by the process of drawing 
them in through the lungs, and through the nerve-cells as well; but 
first of all through the lungs. 

"The deep and regular breather," says Elizabeth Towne, "cannot 
be sick or mentally weak. Just one thing prevents the breath from 
reaching the solar plexus ; a closing of the pores, outward and inward. 
A stooping position will cramp and close many of the lung-pores ; tight 
clothing will shut up not only lung-pores, but others as well. But 
first, last and always, and with more power than is contained in all 
others combined, will THE MIND contract the pores and rob body 
and brain of life and light. 

"FEAR is a great robber. Watch the effect of a single fear upon 
yourself— see how you cringe, shrivel and contract; see how you clinch 
your hands and curl up your toes ; see how you expel the air from your 
lungs and hold it expelled; and you can guess, at least, how fear keeps 
you out of your own. 

1 ' Half breathing is a habit of the human race. That is, on the male 
side. The female side lives on quarter breathing; because it has been 
taught to fear more things than men, and because women are more 
apt at learning anyway. Women have learned to shrink and lean. 
Not content with this, they have bound their feet and hands and laced 
themselves into strait jackets— the most infernal machine imaginable 
for squeezing the solar plexus out of all semblance to a radiating cen- 
ter, and shutting off the breath of life. All this habit must be over- 
come in the only way possible— by the establishment of new habits. 

"Therefore I say unto you, men and women, but especially women, 
breathe. And keep on breathing until you establish the habit of full, 
free breathing. * * * The weak, sick, timid ones are the breath- 
less ones. Asthmatics, consumptives and nervous folks need nothing 



128 A BBEATH OF AIE. 

but breath and plenty of it, to heal them completely. And they rre 
the very ones who will not breathe if they can get out of it. They im- 
mure themselves in hot, airless rooms and gasp and gurgle and bewail 
fate; because they have been for years— for generations, perhaps- 
trying to get along without breath. This is their habit of thought. 

WHAT RIGHT BREATHING WILL DO. 

"Well, there is salvation— a new habit of thought. Practice breath- 
ing even half as diligently as you have practiced not breathing and 
you work out the salvation that is within you. * * * If you will 
practice faithfully for one short month you will be thoroughly con- 
vinced. And if you will keep at it until you have made full breathing 
a habit of thought you will be a new creature ; sorrow and melancholy, 
fears and fighting will have ceased forever. Energy, ambition, power, 
joy will have grown up in their place ; your shrunken and bent body 
will have straightened up; you will stand with a curve extra in the 
small of your back, instead of with one curve at the shoulders, such 
as you had when you were a monkey ; you will walk with a spring, on 
the ball of your foot, instead of coming down on your heels, or shuffling 
along any old way; your eyes will be bright and steady and ready to 
look kindly into every other pair of eyes ; your mouth will be straight 
instead of drooping at the corners as in the old wailing days, and your 
lips will be soft and sweet to kiss; your skin will be fresh and clear 
and your voice will ring out, like bells over quiet waters, instead of 
being smothered in your throat and tinctured with whines or snarls 
as of old; in short, you will be a new being, born again of the ' spirit ' 
and ready to live and love and do. ' ' 

THE "TEN TIMES TEN" PLAN. 

Another writer whose name is a household word in many families 
—Marion Harland— adds her testimony, and it is an interesting one. 

"Ten years ago," she says, "I began to breathe. Up to that time, 
I had lived as crippled steamers have been known to finish an ocean 



A BEEATH OF AIK. 129 

voyage— with one wheel gone. In the consciousness that, owing to a 
hurt the right lung received twenty years hack, there was one weak 
spot to be guarded in an otherwise sound body, I was on the lookout 
for ways and means of doing this. A few words dropped by a friendly 
and common-sensible doctor first put me on the right track and, as I 
said, I began to learn how to breathe. Four years thereafter I was 
thrown into intimate association with several members of a celebrated 
health club, and studied the modus operandi more thoroughly. 

1 ' Since then I would as soon think of going without a meal as with- 
out the ten deep, full, satisfying breaths, which, repeated ten times 
daily, make up the tale of conscientious respirations. No one who has 
oever tried the regimen can imagine the luxury of these delicious, in- 
vigorating draughts of fresh air; of the rush of vivifying oxygen to 
all parts of the body, tingling and thrilling to toes and finger-tips ; of 
the effect upon brain and spirits. It is like the exhilaration wrought 
by generous wine, but addeth no sorrow therewith as wine will, in the 
form of subsequent reactionary dullness. One is made over almost 
as good as new. 

"If one more personality will be forgiven by a generous constitu- 
ency, let me say that my dressmaker tried upon me yesterday the waist 
of a gown she had made for me six years ago. It fitted me perfectly in 
waist-line, neck and sleeves. She exclaimed smilingly at seeing the 
chest had broadened and deepened two inches since the garment was 
made. Which means that lungs and heart have two inches more of 
space in which to do their life-making work. 

"Seven deep inspirations, according to physiologists, suffice to 
expel the ' residuary air'— that is, dead, effete air— from the lungs. 
Take ten to refresh them and prepare them for their rightful exercise. 
When you have done this ten times in twenty-four hours, and every 
day for three months, you will have formed the habit of breathing 
properly. This prescription is not patented, but given freely as the 
blessed air to every living creature.' ' 



130 A BEEATH OF AIE. 

TO RESTORE CALMNESS. 

The value of a restful state of mind is beyond compute. Excite- 
ment produces irregular breathing ; and it is important to know how to 
control the emotions so as to keep both mind and body in a healthy 
state. 

This can be done more and more easily as one gains control of the 
solar plexus. A simple and helpful plan to restore a quiet mood when 
disturbed is to immediately begin breathing full, slow, even breaths, 
counting four while inhaling, four while holding, and four while ex- 
haling. A very few minutes of this exercise will restore calmness by 
steadying the circulation. If you can lie down while thus breathing, 
so much the better. In any case it should be done with the mouth 
closed. 

Ehythmical breathing, as taught by the Hindoos, also gives poise 
and serenity, quieting the nerves if resorted to whenever one is ex- 
cited or disturbed in any way. Breathe slowly and deeply, thinking of 
some familiar tune, and making each breath correspond in length to 
a line of the music. 

HOW TO TAKE A FULL BREATH. 

First empty the lungs, expelling all the air possible. Then breathe 
in slowly until chest, waist and abdomen expand. Lifting the chest, 
and drawing in the abdomen inhale still more air until all has been 
taken in that can rind a corner anywhere. Such exercises greatly 
strengthen that " great breathing motor," the diaphragm. The habit- 
ual disuse of the lower muscles in breathing is to be corrected. 

Four-footed animals know how to breathe; so do healthy children. 
Did you never watch a horse as the muscles of his entire frame are 
extended and relaxed by the circulation of air? Breathing is full and 
deep in quadrupeds, and it is a good sign when bipeds, human ones 
at least, take notes from them in this respect. Only by this means can 
the blood become thoroughly oxygenated. Do not strain the mem- 
brane by closing the epiglottis trap-door in the throat while "hold- 



A BREATH OF AIR. 131 

ing" the breath. Keep the passage open and free, and breathe by a 
regular movement of the muscles. You do not need to think about 
drawing in the air ; just make room for it, and it comes in of itself. 

THE "TOP LINK." 

Remember that the lifting of the chest and drawing in of the abdo- 
men raises the vital organs, which in all who do not thus learn to hold 
them up, are inclined to settle down below their normal position. 
Madam Pote explains the principle as follows: 

"In holding a chain so that the lower link just touches the ground, 
if the hand or 'Top Link' yields in the least, every link in the chain 
is proportionately lowered. 

"Moral— Hold on to the Top Link. 

"Height decreases as age increases. The body shrinks at the 
ankles, knees, waist, chest, neck, and even the corners of the mouth 
and eyelids droop, so the entire organism manifests a downward or 
earthly tendency, with many who profess to be going the other way. 

"Let us be consistent. If the purpose be high, the body should be 
taught to respond in like manner, and express through each and every 
tissue, that same high purpose. 

' ' Hold the heart, head and chest high, and the corners of the mouth 
will no longer betray a chronic state of disapproval, libeling the soul.' ' 

Erectness while sitting, standing, walking or working should also 
be cultivated. Even in reclining the attitude should be straight rather 
than curled up. One in an erect posture will breathe about one-fourth 
more than if stooping; and consequently will enjoy and accomplish 
as much more. Life will be in that proportion richer and more lasting. 

The larger the breathing capacity, the better the assurance of 
permanent good health; there is no danger of enlarging it too much. 
The overcoming of flat chests, weak lungs, throat or bronchial affec- 
tions, even incipient consumption, has resulted in countless instances 
from such a system of lung and chest development, with the proper 
attention to food, bathing, sunshine and fresh air. 



132 A BREATH OF AIR. 

EAT LESS AND BREATHE MORE. 

Blue veins indicate poison in the blood from insufficient breathing. 
The remedy is to eat less and breathe more, so as to both thin and 
redden the blood. The blood in the veins is naturally dark, but should 
not be dark enough to show through. 

Most persons, in fact, would be far stronger if they would thus re- 
duce their eating and increase their breathing. Two parties of trav- 
elers once undertook, at the same time, to ascend Pike's Peak. One 
party was well supplied with ham sandwiches, etc., that the climbers' 
strength for the journey might hold out. The other party had no 
such " refreshments ;' ' in fact, they brought with them no food at all, 
but whenever they were tired, lay down flat for ten minutes and 
breathed. The ham-sandwich party never reached the top. The breath- 
ing party passed them, about half-way up, and arrived at the top in 
nine hours from the time of starting. They were in time to see the 
moon rise, after which, remaining all night, they enjoyed the further 
much-coveted sight of sunrise, from their vantage ground. Returning 
none the worse for their fast, they had the satisfaction of describing 
to their more faint-hearted friends the beauties of the scenes just wit- 
nessed. 

BREATHING EXERCISES. 

Here are five easy and excellent methods of improving the breath- 
ing powers : 

No. 1.— On first rising in the morning, stand erect, heels together, 
hands on hips, chest up; inhale slowly through the nostrils until the 
lungs are full, then expel all the air, forcing it out as much as possi- 
ble. Continue five times each morning. There will be a dizziness at 
first, because the system has not been used to so much oxygen, and it 
has an intoxicating effect; but this passes away with practice. 

No. 2.— When walking in the open air it is beneficial to try the fol- 
lowing lung gymnastic : Inhale slowly, then walk five or ten steps, and 
exhale slowly. Any person who is a member of a family with 



A BREATH OF AIR. 133 

tendencies to diseases of the air-passage will be able to hold at bay 
the scourge of asthma, bronchitis and consumptior by this exercise. 

No. 3.— Stand erect, with abdomen well out of sight, arms bent to 
level of shoulders and finger tips upon the chest. Now look np and 
inhale breath while sweeping the arms and hands up, back and down 
to sides; exhale while sweeping hands to chest again by the heart- 
shaped circle. Repeat six times. 

No. 4.— Stand erect, expand chest and draw abdomen out of sight; 
throw head back and face up, the arms at the sides; raise the arms 
as you inhale until the finger-tips reach at the top of the head. Hold 
breath a few seconds and exhale through nostrils, dropping hands 
gradually to side. 

No. 5.— To cure fatigue: Have your windows wide open; lie flat 
on the back, without a pillow; breathe deeply and rapidly for several 
minutes. Never mind if it makes you a trifle dizzy at first; this soon 
passes, and you begin to feel a tingling sensation clear to the toes and 
finger-tips, caused by the oxygen rushing through the blood-vessels. 
In a short time you will feel wonderfully rested. This exercise with 
its results, was discovered by Prof. 0. S. Fowler, purely by accident. 
When exhausted one day, he threw himself on a couch and breathed in 
this way; it was almost like the involuntary panting of an animal 
after a long run. In a few minutes he began to feel so surprisingly re- 
freshed that he was led to study into the cause, and found it to consist 
in the attitude and method of breathing. 

Breathing is a part of Dr. Paul Edwards' instructions for relaxa- 
tion, which are also well worthy of study, they are so simple and yet 
so wonderful in their practical results. He says: 

"I regard proper relaxation as a real panacea for human ills^ 
worries and sorrows. It is not difficult to lapse into silent relaxation. 
Relaxation means to let go, to loosen one's grasp, mentally and physi- 
cally. In our state of aggressive intention, we grasp ourselves too 
firmly, holding back our really conquering forces by mental and phys- 
ical tension. 



134 A BEEATH OF AIR. 

"This constant tension gathers the muscles into knots, and checks 
liberation or projection of our thoughts ; kept in this state for a few 
hours, we become tired in body and fettered in mind. No effective 
mind force can be projected while we are thus cramped. Thoughts, 
like muscular action, must be freely liberated, and float away to their 
destined object without stint or cramp. 

"Relaxation means silent, restful composure. Sit down alone, be- 
come restful— perfectly restful. Close the eyes gently; breathe full, 
deep, but easy breaths. Now invite the whole peaceful, blissful world 
to come toward you. 

' ' Open your inner, living intelligence to receive the strength, health 
and rest that are now rushing in upon you. Now re-relax, become still 
less taut or rigid in muscle. Keep the eyes still closed, but only 
gently so, and though closed, you now see light, for all your internal 
being is illumined. Settle still more limply into your chair, and again 
invite the universe to come and commune with your passive, restful 
mind. You may feel an internal sensation, like a tingling, prickly, 
rushing vibration. This is real rest, real relaxation, and heaven is 
filling you with its richest gifts— rest, strength and health. Invite 
this approaching invisible power to flow right through your being, 
and sweep it clear of fatigue, sickness, worry and all opposing condi- 
tions. 

"All this time you are being filled with a wealth of repose that is 
past computation. The tingling throughout your economy will be in 
proportion to the profoundness of your relaxation. 

"The mind at first completely subsides on sitting down, then be- 
comes receptive, then inviting, then it reaches out for the coming rest, 
or force, which the universe is projecting toward your relaxed and 
liberated inner intelligence. This all comes without effort, not with 
effort. 

' ' There is no worry that a twenty-minute period of such relaxation 
will not dispel. There is no pain that it will not assuage ; there it no 




NAPOLEON AND HIS SON 



-C. Steuben 



"Far from the din of battle, in his royal library, rests upon a soft divan the famous 
Corsiean warrior — Napoleon, Emperor of the French — the flaxen head of Marie TiOuise's 
son resting upon his lap." 




SAMUEL 



-Sir Joshua Reynolds 



The third time the Lord called, "Samuel, Samuel." Then Samuel answered, "Speak; 
for thy servant heareth." The Lord imposed a weighty message upon his infant shoulders. 
He was to become a great king and prophet, the ruler of the destinies of the Israelites. 



A BREATH OF AIR. 137 

grief it will not dismiss ; no anger it will not soften ; no enemy it will 
not forgive; no fatigue it will not remove. 

"Such is relaxation, and all have time to take it. I know the old, 
old excuse that time forbids, but relaxation makes time— it gives us 
more time than any other act or thing. 

"A person can do far more work for the three or four hours fol- 
lowing relaxation than in the same time preceding it." 

Thousands of the world's most active and brilliant workers have 
proved this to be true; but no description can fully reach the heart 
of the subject. Each must experience its deeper meanings for him- 
self; and since the physical world and the thought-world are after all 
created by the same hand, what wonder that they blend so harmon- 
iously in the life, when given half a chance 1 The life-cells obey the on- 
rushing tide of power breathed into them, because it is the only right 
and natural thing for them to do. 

TO CURE DEPRESSION OF SPIRITS. 

As a remedy for "the blues," practice this one of Elizabeth Towne's 
exercises, as follows : Loosen the clothing, open the windows ; recline 
without pillow, and let your arms lie straight out from the sides, if 
the width of the couch or bed will permit. Relax every muscle from 
head to foot ; let go of everything mentally ; take quietly a full breath, 
hold it a second or two ; then force it suddenly into the upper part of 
the lungs; hold it there a second or two, then suddenly throw all the 
breath down as far as possible, at the same time exclaiming mentally 
to the solar plexus "Wake up! Wake up!!" Hold the breath down 
a second or two; then gradually let it flow back until the lungs are 
evenly filled again, hold an instant, and then see how very slowly and 
smoothly you can exhale the breath. Do this not over three times 
at one exercise, and only when you are depressed. Then rise and 
move as if you were going somewhere and meant to get there. Get 
interested in what you have to do. The next time you think about your 
depression you will wonder what makes you feel so comfortable and 

8 V. 



138 A BREATH OF AIB. 

full of quiet go. "I have used this practice," says Mrs. Towne, " which 
is my own discovery, for years ; for all sorts of depression from every 
imaginable cause; and never once has it failed to change my feelings 
entirely. It is guaranteed to cure anybody who will practice it with 
a will." 

POISONOUS GASES. 

In the formation of healthy blood, pure air is even more essential 
than pure food; because its action is more constant. Every waking 
and sleeping breath during life brings health or disease according to 
whether the air be pure or vitiated. It is an excellent plan to place a 
small quantity of unslaked lime, or of charcoal in the sleeping apart- 
ment, or in the sick-room. The carbonic acid gas breathed out by the 
occupant of the room is absorbed by these materials, instead of re- 
maining in the air to be again taken into the system. 

A great help in ventilating a room is to swing the door rapidly to 
and fro a dozen times or more. It is a gigantic "fan." In the family 
of one of my patients, this simple plan has proved a perfect cure for 
wakefulness on repeated occasions. It completely changes the air 
of the room even when no breeze is stirring, and will prove a relief 
on many a sultry night. Even the " suggestion" awakened by the 
swiftly moving door fills the air with ozone and life. 

Dr. Bonizardi of Italy asserts that people die much more rapidly 
through the deleterious effects of miasma and carbonic acid gas than 
by the want of oxygen in the air. To prove his theory, he put three 
fowls on a perfectly even floor, under three glass cases, and placed 
in the case containing the first bird nothing but the fowl, in the second 
one a piece of unslaked lime, while the third contained some pieces 
of charcoal. In half an hour after the birds were confined he examined 
them, and found that the bird having neither lime nor charcoal was 
dead, that the one in the second case containing the unslaked lime was 
barely alive, while the bird in the case containing charcoal was quite 
active, and showed no sign of suffering. 



A BREATH OF AIR. 139 

The first bird, having neither lime to absorb the carbonic acid gas 
of the lungs, nor charcoal to collect on its surface the effluvium of the 
surrounding air, died of blood poisoning, produced solely by the action 
of the carbonic acid gas expelled from the lungs. 

The fowl that was supplied with the lime was only quite ill, because 
the lime had removed one of the causes of death by absorbing the car- 
bonic acid gas ; while the bird confined in the case containing charcoal 
was only slightly indisposed or ill, because the charcoal absorbed all 
the exhalations of the lungs and body. 

These experiments prove that people die far more quickly from 
the deleterious action of bodily exhalations than from any deficiency 
of oxygen in the air. The moral of these experiments is : that a small 
basket of charcoal should be placed in the room of every invalid, in 
order that it may absorb the carbonic acid gas floating in the air, and 
also attract the exhalations of the body, thus leaving the atmosphere 
purer and more wholesome. 

Poisons must be eliminated; but, this done, the plentiful supply of 
oxygen is of untold value. Indeed, while fully endorsing Dr. Boni- 
zardi's theory, I would emphasize that the best of all methods of 
eliminating poisonous gases is by living as much as possible in the 
open air. 

AN OPEN AIR LIFE. 

Four hours of outdoor breathing for adults should be the very 
smallest daily allowance. More would be better. The nomadic races 
are proverbially healthy; and in summer at least one does well to imi- 
tate them. 

Florence Morse Kingsley, the delightful " Garden Mother' ' of the 
Ladies' Home Journal, believes so thoroughly in the gospel of fresh 
air that she is in the habit of "camping out," in primitive fashion with 
her whole family, a large part of each summer. She finds the gain 
in health inestimable, and her neighbors are many of them following 
her example. In this connection a friend read me an extract from a 
letter dated early in the present June, saying, "Mr. D. and family have 



140 A BEEATH OF AIR. 

left for Lake to camp until fall. Each year they make an earlier 

start." This is a move in the right direction. 

When a busy housewife cannot go away from home, or thinks she 
cannot, the next best arrangement is to take every part of the work 
which is movable, into the garden, or out on the piazza, porch or 
lawn; for the open air is one of the best of tonics. A soldier whose 
constitution appeared to be hopelessly wrecked, has been known 
to recover his health completely, by no other treatment than living for 
a few months in the open air, day and night. 

OUTDOOR GAMES. 

The outdoor games— tennis, golf, basket-ball and the like— together 
with such exercises as horseback riding, rowing, skating, swimming, 
bicycling and long, brisk walks— are all delightful and effectual tonics, 
increasing the lung-power, developing the muscles and giving strength, 
symmetry and grace to the body. The woman who takes time for them 
is wise; for in this way Nature provides, through the air, a reviving 
and strengthening magic turning pale cheeks to rosy ones, brightening 
dull eyes and filling both body and mind with an inner sunshine which 
blesses all who come within reach of its health-giving rays. For, let 
it be remembered, health is contagious as well as disease. 



CHAPTERV III. 

CABE OF THE FACE. 

Fear Neither Old Sol, nor King Boreas— Lotions and Powder— The Pride of Cleanliness 
— Eight Complexion Buies — Rough Face Surface — An Approved Cream — Cucumbers 
for Freckles— Lemon Lotion — Strawberries Invaluable — Cream of Strawberries — Let- 
tuce Milk— Frostbite — Sunburn— Cosmetic Jelly — Eruptions and Pimples — Lack or 
Surplus of Color— Moles, Warts and "Pits"— Cause and Cure of Wrinkles— Eyes are 
Soul-Windows — Lotion for Inflamed Eyes — Foreign Substances in the Eye — The Eye- 
brows' Graceful Arch — Clearing the Ears — Purple Lips. 

44 A S LONG as there are women in the world," says a writer, 
-^~J^ " there will be complexions to be worried about, and there 
is some beneficence in such discontent, for it argues a superior feminine 
nature to try and secure a good complexion." 

The delicate beauty of the skin's texture cannot be preserved with- 
out care, and the care given it must be adapted to the peculiar needs 
of the individual. Those who have a too oily skin, for instance, re- 
quire a different treatment from those who are troubled with chapped 
lips, caused by the winter winds, or burning redness from the heat of 
the summer sun. Long exposure to extremes of weather does not 
affect the skin of the face; but this is one of the cases in which pre- 
vention cannot be said to be better than cure. Light and air are so 
necessary to the general health that it is far better to take the full 
amount of outdoor exercise and then apply to the complexion what- 
ever soothing treatment is needed, than to remain indoors in order 
to keep the satin-like texture with its flower hues, from becoming in- 
jured. Especially is this true as without sunlight the rose tints would 
turn to a sickly white, the lips assume a purplish tint, and the whole 
aspect become suggestive of death rather than of life and beauty. 

It must be remembered that the same exquisite sensibility which 
renders the skin easily affected by the weather, also enables it to re- 
spond quickly to careful treatment; so that one may be much in the 

141 



142 CARE OF THE FACE. 

open air and yet have a complexion rivaling the lily, the carnation and 
the rose combined. 

SOME OF THE BEST LOTIONS. 

To counteract the mischief done by Old Sol, in his too fervid mid- 
summer caresses, or after the rough treatment to be expected from 
his brother, King Boreas, there are several harmless lotions, from 
which one may choose what proves best suited to the individual. 
Glycerine, diluted with ^ve or six times its bulk of pure water, per- 
manently softens the skin, and preserves it in great measure from the 
ill effects of sun and wind. It is agreeable to most persons, and an 
effectual remedy for chapped, roughened or blistered skin. Olive or 
almond oil is also excellent. Any of these soothing lotions should be 
lightly applied and the surface wiped with a soft towel. 

It is a good plan upon returning from a walk, or drive, or any out- 
door exercise, to bathe the face, in order to remove the dust that has 
gathered upon it. Almost every woman uses a little face powder 
occasionally, and as there are many injurious articles on the market, 
it is well to prepare it at home. A few cents will supply the needful 
quantity. Mix half a pound of finely powdered starch with two and 
a half ounces of freshly powdered orris root, then run through a sieve. 
Put a little in a bag of thin flannel and apply it by shaking it lightly 
on the face. 

"Of course the basis of a good complexion is cleanliness— in fact 
it even affects the arch of the neck," says a writer, "for every woman 
can hold her head higher when she knows she is absolutely clean." 

A few condensed general rules for the complexion may be mentioned 
here: 

1.— Don't use hard water at all; use warm water at night. 

2.— Don't fail to thoroughly dry the face. Don't use fancy soaps, 
but pure white castile. 

3.— Don't fail after washing to rub the face upward, especially 
near the nose. 

4— Don't eat fat meats, pastries, salads, or highly spiced foods. 



CAEE OF THE FACE. 143 

5.— Don't drink strong tea or coffee. 

6.— Don't use cheap face powders. 

7.— Don't worry; it produces wrinkles. 

8.— Don't give way to violent emotions. By following this rule 
you will do more to help your complexion and beauty than by using 
all the toilet creams invented. 

THE COMPLEXION BRUSH. 

The correct complexion brush is made of firm bristles about three- 
quarters of an inch long. These bristles do not mat down when put in 
water. The brush should be used every night with warm water and 
castile soap. This treatment is excellent for any bad complexion, be- 
cause it stimulates the glands and skin and stirs the blood vessels to 
action. 

FOR A ROUGH, HARSH COMPLEXION. 

A rough, harsh complexion is most frequently caused by hard water 
and impure soaps. Use the pure white imported castile, and get a 
correct complexion brush. Use the brush every night with warm water 
and the soap, drying the face thoroughly, and rubbing in olive or 
almond oil, diluted glycerine, or cream. A good cream is made as fol- 
lows: 

COMPLEXION CREAM. 

One-quarter ounce white wax, two and one-half ounces spermaceti, 
two and one-half ounces oil of sweet almonds ; melt, remove from fire 
and add one and one-half ounces rosewater. Beat till creamy, not till 
cold. Use only one-fourth ounce white wax— more will make it too 
hard. 

FRECEXES. 

Of course, outdoor exercise should be tempered with judgment and 
common sense. A veil in a March wind, or a parasol in July, is cer- 
tainly a wise precaution; and the time for going out should be well 
chosen. 

Those who are addicted to summer freckles would do well to re- 



144 CAEE OF THE FACE. 

main in the house for at least an hour after washing the face, or the 
sun will bring out the freckles in great yellow batches. 

For freckles an excellent lotion consists of chopped cucumbers or 
cucumbers cut in slices with all the juice left in them. They are then 
bound upon the face in such a way that the juice will dry on. Cucum- 
ber peelings boiled in water will be found good for the skin ; or a slice 
of cucumber may be rubbed on the face, instead of soap. 

Lemon juice is also good to apply as a lotion both for freckles and 
sunburn. A little diluted lemon juice, mixed with borax and rubbed on 
the face, neck or hands at bedtime will both bleach and soften the skin. 
Allow it to remain a few moments, then rinse off with clear cold water, 
and dry. 

As a cosmetic, the strawberry is fine. Those who have freckles and 
spots, blotches and blemishes, can take the berry and cut it in two. 
This berry, rubbed upon the blemish, will turn into an acid which 
will take off the spot. Obstinate spots can have strawberry juice ap- 
plied to them and left on for half an hour and afterwards washed off 
with hot water. 

STRAWBERRY FACE BATHS. 

For the face the ripe mashed berry makes an excellent bath, but it 
cannot be used by all alike. The brown-skinned beauty will find her 
complexion wonderfully improved thereby. The acid will cleanse the 
complexion, while the rosy glow of the berries will impart a pleasing 
tinge to the skin. 

There are olive beauties who depend upon the strawberry face- 
bath from season to season. They use the first berries that come, and 
keep on with the berry bath until the last bit of the crimson fruit has 
disappeared from the fruit stalls. They claim it gives them the half 
rosy look which is so essential to an appearance of youth. 

A fresh complexion is necessary to the woman who wants to keep 
her youth. If she be dark skinned or yellow skinned, or if her face be 
muddy she will find a ready relief in the fresh juice of the finest berry 
of spring. 



CAEE OF THE FACE. 145 

Those who are too fair to use the clear juice of the berry can make 
a nice complexion bath. Take half a cup of ripe berries and squeeze 
the juice into a basin, straining it through a fine cloth. To this juice 
add a pint of boiling water and a cup of red vinegar. This makes a 
nice bath for the hands and arms, and it is excellent for the face, though 
the eyes should be kept tightly closed while using it. It can be daubed 
upon the cheeks and forehead without touching the eyes. 

There was, in the days of the beauties of the last generation, a 
rather extravagant belle who ordered her maid each morning to bring 
her the juice of a quart of ripe berries. The maid strained the juice, 
added a teaspoonful of borax powder, and heated the whole just enough 
to be pleasant. It was good enough to drink, but the belle bathed her 
face in it, her neck and her arms, letting it dry on the skin. In fifteen 
minutes she was ready for her bath, which left the skin rosy and 
tingling from the acid wash. 

CEEAM MADE FROM BERRIES. 

An old lady made her fortune one summer at a famous watering 
place selling cream of strawberries for the complexion. Her jars of 
cold cream sold as fast as she could make them. Each jar contained 
the juice of berries skilfully compounded with healing lotions. The 
recipe was this: Taking a heaping tablespoonful of mutton tallow, 
she would put it on the fire to heat, and into it she would stir about a 
tablespoonful of powdered oatmeal as fine as flour. Then to this she 
would add half a cup of strawberry juice, stirring vigorously over the 
fire until it was all of a cream. Finally she would pour into little 
jars, and set away to cool. It was about as thick as cornstarch, 
and soothing to the skin. The old lady could never give the directions 
accurately, for, as she wisely observed, tablespoons were of different 
sizes, and some kinds of oatmeal mixed better than others. 

LETTUCE AND CUCUMBER CREAMS. 

Lettuce made into a cream for the skin is delightful. It should 
be cut into tiny bits and only the thick, juicy part should be used, the 



146 CAEE OF THE FACE. 

stalk where the acids are. The stalk should be chopped fine and stirred 
in cold cream while in a liquid state. The juices of lettuce can be ex- 
tracted with good results and a mixture made which is called lettuce 
milk. This is good for the skin. 

Take enough lettuce juice to fill half a cup. Add to it half a cup 
of boiling water and a table spoonful of boracic acid. To this add about 
ten drops of tincture of benzoin. Bottle and keep for the skin. 

A more economical recipe is this : Cover a head of lettuce leaves 
with boiling water. Let simmer, strain, and add enough benzoin to 
make the water mL 

And among vegetables it is not only to lettuce that credit must be 
given for the preservation of the skin, for cucumbers claim their share 
of healing properties. Cucumbers split lengthwise, as recommended 
in the treatment of freckles, and bound upon the face, are a wonderful 
restorative, while the milk of cucumbers is famous. 

To make good milk of cucumbers cut up two large cucumbers and 
cover them with water. About half a cup is the right amount. Lei 
simmer half an hour. Keep covered so that the water does not simmer 
off. Take off, strain, add a cup of boiling water, ten grains of pow- 
dered borax, and enough tincture of benzoin to make the water look 
milky. This is a delightful skin preparation, and one that can be 
used freely upon the face, neck and arms. 

FROST-BITES. 

If the ears or nose be frostbitten, the best treatment is friction 
with the hands or a piece of flannel, continued for a long time, or until 
perfect circulation is restored. Care must be taken in the meantime 
not to go near a fire or into a heated room. 

STTNBURN. 

Equal parts of olive oil and limewater will be found a soothing 
and effectual wash to apply to a sunburnt face, neck, arms or hands. 
Elderflower water is famous for its cooling properties, as is lavender 



CARE OF THE FACE. 147 

water. Vaseline should not be used on the face ; it will do on the hands 
or elsewhere, but on the face it is apt to cause the growth of super- 
fluous hair. Some of the cheaper cold creams are compounded of 
white vaseline, and should accordingly be avoided for facial use. 

COSMETIC JELLY 

is a safe and delightful preparation. It is made as follows : 

Seven ounces of rosewater, thirty grains of gum tragacanth, one 
ounce of alcohol, one ounce of glycerine. Let the tragacanth stand in 
the rosewater for four days, beating often with a wooden spoon. When 
the gum has entirely dissolved, add the glycerine, then the alcohol. 
A few drops of oil of rose and half a teaspoonful of powdered borax 
are improvements. This lotion dries immediately after application. 

LOTION FOE OILY SKIN. 

Dried rose leaves, one ounce; white wine vinegar, one-half pint; 
rosewater, one-half pint. Pour the vinegar upon the rose leaves and 
let it stand for one week ; then strain and add the rosewater, throwing 
the rose leaves away. The lotion may be used either pure, or diluted 
by putting about a tablespoonful into a cupful of rain water. Do not 
keep in a metal vessel. 

FACIAL ERUPTIONS. 

Young people especially are often troubled by hard, red pimples 
affecting all parts of the face and sometimes extending to the neck z 
shoulders, back and chest. Such will be benefitted by bathing the 
affected portions night and morning with salt and water— a tablespoon- 
ful of salt to a cup of water; living on plain, wholesome food, and 
exercising much in the open air. Sea-bathing is particularly good. 

But it must be remembered that facial eruptions are mainly due 
to some internal impurity, or lack of sufficient care in bathing. The 
face may be kept scrupulously clean, yet if the rest of the body is 
not bathed frequently the impurities will escape through the only 
avenue where the pores are open— the face. 



148 CARE OF THE FACE. 

Constipation is a common cause of unsightly blotches and pimples ; 
so also is self-abuse. When these eruptions appear on the face, the 
general habits must be carefully looked after. Bathe frequently and 
thoroughly; avoid face powder and irritating soaps; regulate the 
bowels by a proper diet and an internal bath, if necessary; eat no 
pastry or confections, but substitute fruit and nuts; drink plenty of 
fresh water and breathe plenty of fresh air; and Nature will effect a 
cure. 

Blackheads are caused by a clogging of the oil-glands in the skin. 
Hot soap and water bathing, practiced daily, followed by friction, will 
soon cause them to disappear, if the habits in general are right. Very 
hot sweet milk, applied locally with a soft cloth, followed by bathing 
the face in cold water, is also good. 

Any disease of the nervous system or generative organs is certain 
to affect the complexion; because the digestive organs will not then 
perform their work properly and the blood and the entire system will 
be filled with impurities which must be eliminated through the skin. 

PALENESS. 

Lack of color arising from poor circulation of the blood, insufficient 
nutrition, neglect of outdoor exercise, etc., as well as that resulting 
from general debility, is very common. The best treatment in such 
cases is a combination of Nature's best gifts, water, sunlight and air, 
in liberal doses. Friction with a rough towel after bathing the face 
in hot and then in cold water, will help to start a glow ; but the treat- 
ment needs to be made more than local. Exercise in the open air is 
important ; also a nourishing diet, including plenty of those fruits and 
vegetables which, like strawberries, beets and tomatoes, by their red 
color indicate the presence of iron. 

REDNESS. 

Indigestion is often the cause of an over-ruddy complexion. The 
remedy is in a careful attention to the diet as directed in Chapter V. 



CARE OF THE FACE. 149 

The drinking of lemonade is good; and tepid water in bathing, for 
those thus troubled, is preferable to hot or cold. 

MOLES. 

These small excrescences, discolored and sometimes covered with 
hair, can be removed by touching them every alternate day with strong 
nitric or acetic acid. When they are covered with hair, they should 
first be shaved. Then apply the acid with a toothpick or splinter of 
wood, being careful not to let it touch the rest of the face, or the 
hands. 

I particularly recommend the following for the removal of moles, 
and also warts, as I have found it effective in my practice : 

Mix equal quantities of water, chloride of zinc and flour. Apply 
just enough to cover the mole or wart; a very small quantity. Cover 
with court plaster, and leave on for a few hours. Leave it till it heals 
under the plaster. On removing the plaster, the skin will be found 
perfectly smooth. 

"PITS" OR "POCK-MARKS." 

These are less common than formerly, as the disease of small-pox 
is so much less prevalent and more effectually treated; but where the 
marks exist, in ordinary cases they will gradually disappear under an 
application of a tepid, glycerinated ioduretted lotion twice a day. Gen- 
tle friction daily with warm oils, slightly ioduretted, is another treat- 
ment that, if persevered in, will remove them either wholly or in part. 
Warm sea-water baths help in this cure. 

TATTOO MARKS— HOW TO REMOVE THEM. 

Those who have been so unfortunate or foolish as to have tattoo 
marks made on their skin usually wish to remove them in later years. 
In some cases they are quite indelible, but in some instances the draw- 
ings have been taken out by being first well rubbed with a salve of pure 
acetic acid and lard, then with a solution of potash, and finally with 
hydrochloric acid. 



150 CAEE OF THE FACE. 

MOTH PATCHES. 

These are discolorations caused by a torpid liver or by constipation. 
The diet must be corrected, the general rules of health observed, and as 
to local treatment, the following is good : Prepare a flannel face cloth 
by sewing two or three layers together and cutting holes for the nos- 
trils ; saturate this flannel with hot water and hold it over the face until 
cool, breathing through the holes. Do this several times over, then 
bathe the face in cold water containing a little dissolved baking soda; 
then in clear cold water. Dry with a soft cloth, gently patting rather 
than rubbing the flesh. Finish by rubbing in some mild emollient, like 
olive oil, cream, or cocoa butter. Another treatment includes the use 
of the following ointment : One ounce of benzoinated lard, one drachm 
of white precipitate, one drachm of subnitrate of bismuth. Bathe the 
face at night with warm water and pure castile soap, using a complexion 
brush. Einse and dry thoroughly, then apply the ointment. Wash 
away next morning with tepid or cold water. Drink much buttermilk. 

INFLAMED FACE. 

A saturate solution of boric acid is good for almost any sort of 
inflammation. It is often applied after the electric needle has been used 
for the removal of superfluous hair, and it helps the tissue to heal at 
once. Put one ounce of the boric acid crystals in a quart glass jar and 
fill with hot water. Apply lightly twice a day with a bit of absorbent 
cotton. 

HOW SCARS MAY BE REMOVED. 

The X-ray is used quite successfully now for removing scars. Cer- 
tain medicinal agencies are applied at the same time. If the scar is 
not very deep it can be blotted away to a considerable extent by a warm 
solution of boric acid. Dissolve one ounce of boric acid crystals in 
a quart of water. Apply with absorbent cotton night and morning. 

WRINKLES. 

When the supply of fat just beneath the skin has been absorbed and 
is not renewed, the skin falls into folds, forming wrinkles. Long-con- 



CARE OF THE FACE. 151 

tinned emaciation from ill-health will canse them, therefore, qnite as 
mnch as advancing age. Worry, defective sight and over-stndy are 
also fruitful causes. Sleeping with the head upon high pillows will 
sometimes cause them ; during the day, the muscles are inclined to settle 
down somewhat, and this drooping tendency should be counteracted 
during sleep, by using a small pillow rather than a large one. Some of 
my patients have even found it possible to accustom themselves to 
sleeping comfortably with no pillow at all, so that they prefer that 
method. It helps to correct round shoulders as well as wrinkles. 

Wherever wrinkles exist, the cellular tissues need building up. 
Bathe the face daily in hot water, followed by cold water, and after 
drying massage with olive oil, or almond oil, or cocoa butter. Keep the 
mind tranquil, take plenty of outdoor exercise, and adopt a nutritious 
diet with plenty of the fat-producing foods. 

Do not forget, when drying the face after washing, to rub upward 
instead of downward. This will help to prevent wrinkles and to smooth 
out the creases alongside the nose. But with every effort it must be 
remembered that nothing will cure wrinkles on the face while wrinkles 
in the thoughts are allowed. Every tangled, harrowing, disturbing 
thought must be banished and the mind be kept as serene as the surface 
of a lake on a still June morning. 

FACIAL EXPRESSION. 

The beauty of the face consists not only in feature and complexion, 
but is so largely in expression that it is no wonder that those in love 
always think their loved ones beautiful. Active, happy love draws the 
facial lines upward instead of permitting them to droop ; lights up all 
the features with a glow of radiant warmth ; brings smiles not only to 
the lips but to the eyes as well ; and redoubles the beauty of any face. 

THE EYES. 

High on the list of requisites for beauty are bright, sparkling eyes. 
Such features will redeem an otherwise plain face ; while in a beautiful 
face the eyes are apt to be the most irresistible charm. 



152 CAKE OF THE FACE. 

As the optic nerve terminates at that portion of the brain where the 
love-faculty is located, it is natural that the eyes should express as 
they do all the varying moods of a woman's love-nature. 

The real fascination of beautiful eyes is in the expression. The 
.eyes are the "windows of the soul" in very truth, and when the soul is 
beautiful, its windows will be beautiful also. They reveal the tempera- 
ment of the individual as well. A woman with eyes of the soft, tender, 
melting type, whether they are blue, hazel or dark, will be found to 
possess gentle graces of manner and disposition; while the merry, 
vivacious, "snappy" eyes go with the livelier temperament. Both are 
equally beautiful; but perfect health must be the rule if they are to 
continue so. A physician can usually tell by the appearance of the 
eyes whether his patient has any nervous disorders, any fever, or if 
there is lack of nutrition. An unhealthy condition of the generative 
organs shows most quickly of all in the reddish, livid spots under the 
inner corners of the eyes; such symptoms are Nature's warning that 
it is well to heed. A later chapter will deal with this condition and its 
remedy. 

CARE OF THE EYES. 

Like all delicate parts, the eyes require careful attention. When 
you arise in the morning don't be surprised if you see black spots for 
a minute **r two. The pressure on the eyeball flattens the lens of the 
eye and causes this. Don't rub your eyes with your fingers ; bathe them 
at once in moderately cold water and wipe them inwards. This pre- 
vents "crows feet." Don't let soap get into the eyes. If the eyes are 
inflamed an application of hot water and milk in equal parts will help 
greatly. Or, the following lotion may be used: Fifteen drops of 
spirits of camphor, one teaspoonful of powdered boric acid, two-thirds 
of a cup of boiling water. Strain through muslin, cool, and apply 
twice a day. Or, bathe them frequently in weak salt water ; or in tepid 
water, gradually cooling it until cold; wipe them always gently with a 
soft towel, and rest them for a time. Pond's Extract is another wash 
that will usually prove effective. 




TWO MOTHERS AND THEIR FAMILIES —Elizabeth Gardner 

The mother bird watches her infant chicks, and the child looks with intelligence into 
the face of its mother, and sees in them the answer: "We are both mothers." And the 
child understands. 




IN THE FOREST 



— R. Beyschlag 



The forest is said to be "God's cathedral," for amid its silence and genuine simplicity* 
the Creator dwells. 

"Oh, mutual bliss, sweet amid roseate bowers, 
Led by the hand of Love to unmolested crop life's fairy flowers." 



CARE OF THE FACE. 155 

When a rough towel is used for the eyes it flattens the eyeballs, 
thus inviting the need of glasses much earlier than would otherwise be 
the case. When at work, if the eyes aehe, it is Nature's call for rest. 
Avoid weeping, as it inflames and injures the eyes; and never try 
experiments with belladonna or other artificial means to brighten them. 
This can be done much more effectively, as well as safely, by means of 
bathing and resting them, as described. 

Blue spectacles are best to protect weak or inflamed eyes in the 
midst of snow or white sand. Smoked glass is good if blue cannot be 
had. Red lamp shades inflame the eyes, while a blue shade soothes and 
strengthens them. 

Avoid reading and study by flickering, unsteady light, or in the 
twilight. Poor light is very poor economy. Light should come from 
the side of the reader, and not from the back nor from the front. Do 
not read or study while suffering great bodily fatigue or during recov- 
ery from illness. Do not read while lying down. Do not use the eyes 
too long at a time for anything that requires close application, but 
give them occasional periods of rest. Reading and study should be 
done systematically. During study avoid the stooping position, or 
whatever tends to produce congestion of the blood in the head or face. 
Read with the book on a level with the eyes, or nearly so, instead of in 
your lap. Select well printed books. Correct imperfection in sight 
with proper glasses, not selected carelessly by yourself or bought from 
an irresponsible traveling peddler, but properly fitted by an educated 
optician. Avoid bad hygienic conditions and the use of alcohol and 
tobacco. Take sufficient exercise in the open air. Let physical culture 
keep pace with mental development, for imperfection in eyesight is 
most usually observed in those who are lacking in physical develop- 
ment. 

DISCOLORED EYES. 

A " black eye" is a very disfiguring feature. If inflamed and 
painful, wash the eye often with very warm water, in which is dis- 
solved a little carbonate of soda. A repeated application of cloths 
9 v. 



156 CAEE OF THE FACE. 

wrung out of very hot water gives relief. A poultice of slippery elm 
bark mixed with milk and put on warm is also good. To remove the 
discolorization of the eye bind on a poultice made of the root of ' ' Solo- 
mon 's seal." It is often found sufficient to apply the scraped root at 
bedtime to the closed eye and the blackness will disappear by morning. 

REMOVING FOREIGN SUBSTANCES FROM THE EYES. 

An easy method of removing bits of foreign bodies from the eye is 
to place a grain of flaxseed under the lower lid and close the lids. The 
seed becomes quickly surrounded by a thick adherent mucilage which 
entraps the foreign body and soon carries it out from the angle of 
the eye. 

THE EYEBEOWS. 

The beauty of these features consists in their graceful arch, their 
smoothness and glossiness, and in their being sufficiently full to be well 
defined. They should never be cut or shaved; no pomades or burnt 
matches should be applied to them; but after washing the face, they 
may be smoothed into shape with the fingers or a brush. A toothbrush 
no longer usable for the teeth is convenient for this. 

Don't pencil your eyebrows; this soon makes them fall out. To 
increase the growth use cocoanut or olive oil. To darken them use 
sage tea, with a few drops of alcohol. 

The growth of the eyelashes can also be helped by touching them 
with a little olive oil every night on retiring. 

THE EARS. 

Those born blind have been found to develop mentally with far 
greater ease than the deaf. This indicates the importance of the sense 
of hearing to the right growth of the intellect. To protect and develop 
this sense is not difficult with a little thought and attention. 

"When in a perfectly healthy condition, the wax of the ear-passages 
dries and scales off; but sometimes from a cold or similar cause it 
becomes hardened and partially clogs the passage. In this case a few 
drops of warm olive oil inserted from the point of a teaspoon will 



CARE OF THE FACE. 15? 

soften it, and it will usually come away without further trouble. 
Should it still remain, a syringe and tepid water will cleanse the pas- 
sage effectually. Never insert a pin or any other metallic substance 
into the ear. 

EAE BATH. 

Spray from a fountain syringe, water 95 degrees Fahrenheit, for 
an ear bath when the ear discharges a thin mattery discharge which 
has become chronic. 

Unthinking parents occasionally strike their children on the ears. 
This is never a safe practice. There is danger that the sudden fore- 
ing of air inward may rupture the ear drum. 

School and health authorities are now giving much attention to 
the prevalence of defective hearing among school-children, with a 
view to relieving the little sufferers, if not from the condition itself, 
at least from many of its embarrassments and privations. 

Outstanding ears are a deformity easily prevented in childhood by 
the wearing at night of a bandage or thin cap pressing the too aggres- 
sive features gently back against the head. But if too late for this, 
one may still be rid of the trouble by allowing a reliable specialist 
to remove a small part of the cartilage at the back. When the part 
heals, the ear is left in proper position. 

Those who like the delicate shell-pink color of the outer ears can 
try the harmless expedient of pinching or rubbing them gently several 
times during each day. 

THE NOSE. 

This feature, the most prominent in the face, is curiously enough 
the one least noticed. People with Roman noses, snub noses and 
straight, continue to meet one another on the street with seldom a 
thought of this difference. Yet it is often a good indication of tem- 
perament. 

Narrow nostrils are said to indicate small lungs, but if this were 
a rule to be relied on ? Africans, with their wide nostrils, would in- 



158 CARE OF THE FACE. 

variably surpass those of other races in lung capacity; which is not 
the case. Large noses generally indicate strong will-power. 

THE NOSE BATH 

cures catarrh or dryness of the nose. Fill two-quart fountain syringe 
with water as hot as it can be borne; drop into it 2 drams fluid 
extract of hydrastin, and one drarn carbolic acid, once daily. The 
same formula is excellent for discharges of the ear. 

In health, this feature requires little care aside from the careful 
bathing given to the face as a whole. When the pores of the skin are 
enlarged, those of the nose are apt to become especially coarse. This 
brings us to the treatment 

FOR ENLARGED PORES. 

Scientific massage and electric treatments are most speedily 
effective. Bathing with cold salt water every morning and with warm 
water at night is good. With the warm water use pure soap and a 
complexion brush, afterwards applying the complexion cream first 
recommended in this chapter. 

THE LIPS. 

If one should use camphor the minute a cold sore is discovered, 
first wetting the spot with the camphor and then adding powdered 
subnitrate of bismuth so that the cold sore will be covered with paste, 
it may scatter it, and in any event it will lessen its size. Camphor 
applied to the lips night and morning will harden the lips. Cold sores 
eat into the skin and may leave scars that will remain permanently. 

The lips should be naturally of a good color if the health of the 
individual is good. It is in vain to resort to artificial means to color 
the lips. If the circulation is poor the lips will be purple. If the 
digestion is bad the lips will be white. If the whole system lacks tone 
and vigor the lips will be lacking in color. Therefore, instead of 
resorting to artificial means to improve the color of the lips, build up 
the constitution by all the means that make for health. 



CHAPTER IX, 

CAEE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 

Palmistry a Science— Record of Joys and Sorrows— Four Types— Scientific Dishwashing- 
Wear Your Gloves— Lemon and Borax— Freckled and Chapped Hands— Important Rule 
About Glycerine — Rough Work, yet Beautiful Hands — Care of the Nails — Ingrowing 
Toe Nails— Comfort for the Feet— Enlarged Joints— Importance of the Foot Bath— 
The Sand-Bath— The Sin of "Corn" Cultivation— Large Feet Often a Mark of Genius. 

f~\ NE does not need to consult a gypsy fortune teller in order to 
^<S know that the hands express a great deal, aside from their 
dexterity as servants of the mind in various useful pursuits. The 
rules of the Delsarte physical exercises teach how the position and 
movement of the hands may be made a most graceful and unerring 
key to the inmost emotions of the soul; while in the field of intel- 
lectual expression the hands are a wonderful aid in making one's 
meaning clear. Indeed, the very formation of the hand is full of sig- 
nificance to those who have made the matter a serious study. 

To find the origin of palmistry one must go back to the earliest 
Aryan races, before even Eome or Greece had a history. "Why it is 
now left so largely to the unlettered I will not pretend to say, but 
certain it is that by the ancient nations it was studied as a science, 
and that the few who so study it to-day find it most interesting, and 
say that it should be taken out of the realm of the occult, where it 
does not belong, and placed in the purely scientific class, where it does ; 
that it should be taught in the public schools in connection with 
physiology. 

In the palms of the hand may be read the joys, the sorrows, the 
deepest experiences of life. This is because the mind is an exact 
recorder. Along the nerves emanating from the brain pass all the 
currents of thought, leaving their impress as they go. The less active 

159 



160 



CARE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 



the mind, the fewer the lines in the palm, which is found to be in a 
peculiar degree susceptible to this impress. 

DIFFERENT TYPES OF HAND. 

The hand has four types: the spatula, the square, the conic, or 
rounded, and the pointed. By observing these, the varying tempera- 
ments may often be read 
with considerable clear- 
ness. 

The first, or spatula 
type, so called because 
of its resemblance in 
shape to the instrument 
used in compounding 
drugs, belongs to people 
who like an outdoor life, 
and who are almost in- 
variably piano players. 
The square type, to those 
orderly, orthodox, 'useful 
people who love modera- 
tion; they are always re- 
liable, good business peo- 
ple, and the women make 
excellent nurses. The 
conic type belongs to 
those of artistic, enthus- 
iastic nature, loving nov< 
elty and ease; whose 
imaginations are as 
warm as their hearts are 
cold. Such people are 
usually 6 ' wedded to their 
the hand and peincipal lines. art." They always sing, 




CAEE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 161 

and sometimes play stringed instruments, but not the piano. The 
pointed type belongs to idealists; people who are extremely inspira- 
tional, and cannot endure any kind of music but the higher classical. 
But it is with the care of this wonderful part of the human 
mechanism that we are chiefly concerned ; with the methods of keeping 
it useful and beautiful. For nothing is in the highest degree beau- 
tiful unless it is useful as well. 

WHEN DOING YOUR OWN WORK. 

Housework is, of course, trying to the hands, owing to the extremes 
of heat and cold, the frequent moisture and hasty drying to which 
they are exposed. Yet, in spite of this undeniable fact, housework is 
becoming more popular with beauty seekers since it has been learned 
that many details of the household routine can be made positively 
helpful from a beauty standpoint, instead of the reverse. Sweeping, 
bed-making, etc., develop muscle. Washing especially is a good exer- 
cise if one would have beautifully rounded arms ; but it is an exercise 
that should be taken in moderation. 

* 'PEARLS IN DISHWATER." 

It is possible to find rare jewels where least expected. Dish- 
washing, when made a fine art, may be relied on to furnish its share 
of "pearls,' ' in the form of satisfaction, even to the extent of im- 
proving, rather than injuring the hands. To find these pearls in dish- 
water, first have ready three pans; one for suds, one for clear hot 
water rinsing, and one for draining, unless you have a good drain- 
board. All very greasy dishes should be well scraped and partially 
rinsed off before beginning. Then with clean hot suds and a handled 
dishmop, wash the glassware first ; next, the silver ; then the fine china ; 
then the coarser ware, and finish with the cooking utensils, unless you 
have wisely adopted the plan of one woman who always disposes of 
the pots and kettles separately, before she begins with the more 
artistic part. Dip each dish in the clear hot water after its bath in 



162 CARE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 

the suds; drain, and wipe dry while still hot. Renew both suds and 
rinsing water as often as needed to keep them hot and clean. 

"When the dishwashing is completed, wash the hands in warm or 
tepid, but not hot water, with pure soap ; rinse in water of about the 
same temperature, and dry gently, rubbing them over with cornmeal 
after they are thoroughly clean and dry. A dish of cornmeal for this 
use should stand near the sink, as convenient as the soap. 

If the dishes are washed in this way, the hands will be in the water 
only enough to soften and whiten them ; and after such a process is an 
excellent time to manicure the nails, for the skin surrounding them 
will be soft and easily pushed back. 

A PAIR OF GLOVES. 

It is a good plan to keep with the supply of kitchen aprons, several 
pairs of white cotton gloves to protect the hands, which are certainly 
as well worth caring for as the dress. After the morning dishwashing 
is over, and the hands have been treated as described, put on a pair of 
the gloves while bed-making, sweeping, etc. 

Protection from cold and sudden changes is the main thing needed 
to keep the hands in good condition; and when they must necessarily 
be often in the water, the effects may be counteracted by using a good 
cream or ointment on them at night, and wearing the gloves to bed. 
Either vaseline or olive oil is good ; so is the cream first recommended 
in the preceding chapter. 

A lemon is one of the most useful adjuncts to the toilet. It is 
especially helpful in removing stains from the skin. When the juice 
of a lemon has been used in the kitchen the "husk" of the fruit, in 
which a little pulp and juice will remain, should be reserved for the 
wash-stand. It is useful in its fresh form for rubbing over the hands 
and cleaning the flesh that surrounds the nails; or can be steeped in 
boiling water. When cold, this water should be used for bathing the 
face. If the "husk" of the lemon is dipped in borax before being 
rubbed over the hands so much the better. A mixture of lemon juice 
and borax is recommended for whitening the skin. 



CAEE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 163 

If the hands are red, there is a restricted circulation. Something^ 
either the corset, sleeves or dress-waist, is worn too tight. Care 
should be taken never to wear tight gloves. 

BBMEDIES FOE CHAPPED HANDS. 

For freckled and chapped hands there is a bath of witch hazel and 
cucumber juice in equal parts. This can be applied to the skin with a 
little sponge. After it has been on fifteen minutes it can be washed 
off with soap and water, for there is something unpleasant about the 
nicest lotion when it is allowed to dry upon the skin. 

Another good treatment for chapped hands is the bran rainwater 
bath. A teacupful of bran tied in a muslin bag is put to soak over 
night in a large dish of rainwater. The water is then used every 
morning to wash with until the chapped condition disappears. Keep 
the bran constantly soaking, refilling the bag with fresh bran twice a 
week, and the rainwater as often as required. 

A few dressings with a piece of deer's suet will also effect a cure; 
while pure glycerine applied two or three times a day is another excel- 
lent remedy. The word "pure" is important in this connection, since 
impure glycerine is anything but healing. Pure glycerine rubbed on 
the hands is quite lacking in odor. Glycerine, by the way, should never 
be applied to the skin undiluted. It has a strong affinity for water, 
and will absorb all the moisture from the surface which it touches, 
unless it has first been mixed with an equal bulk of water. Rose water, 
lemon juice and glycerine make an excellent combination for softening 
and preserving the skin. 

Still another plan which might be substituted— because glycerine, 
excellent as it is, does not agree with all skins— is to prepare a lotion 
of four ounces of alcohol, one-half ounce of ammonia, and one drachm 
of oil of lavender. Pour a teaspoonful of this into the water each 
time the hands are washed. Use pure white castile soap, getting the 
real imported kind; rinse all the soap away and dry the hands well, 
then apply the cosmetic jelly described in the preceding chapter. It 
is just as delightful for the hands as for the face, 



164 CASE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 

FOE THE EOUGHEST KITCHEN WORK. 

Lemon and salt will remove stains from the hands ; bnt stove-black- 
ing is not an agreeable substance to have ground into the skin, if it 
can be avoided— and it can. Before using it, or doing similar work, it 
is a good plan to nib lard around and under the finger nails, then draw 
on an old pair of gloves. Make an emulsion of powdered borax and 
white castile soap, melted in a small quantity of water, and into this 
stir a little kerosene. After any especially dirty piece of work use 
this emulsion when washing the hands, and then rinse them with 
vinegar. The soap and kerosene open the pores and let the dirt out 
easily, and the vinegar closes them and coats them over, thus prevent- 
ing them from becoming chapped and roughened. The lard prevents 
the nails from becoming stained; and also helps to prevent hang-nails. 

CRACKED HANDS. 

Deep cracks sometimes appear near the roots of the nails, or else- 
where on the hands. Those troubled in this way, particularly in the 
winter, often find it very hard to heal the cracks. Common copal 
varnish will heal them completely in two or three days, and a small 
bottleful will last a long time. 

WARTS. 

The remedy for moles, given in the preceding chapter, I have found 
equally effective for warts. 

Oil of cinnamon dropped on warts three or four times a day will 
also cause their disappearance, however hard, large or dense they may 
be. The application gives no pain and causes no suppuration. 

THE NAILS. 

As the tips of the fingers and toes are sensitive, Nature has pre- 
pared for them a beautiful coat of armor, rosy and transparent, yet a 
perfect protection. The nails are in reality a modified cuticle, attached 
at their roots to the cutis or true skin, and nourished and built up by it. 

Once a week the nails should be trimmed, or preferably filed, not 



CAKE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 165 

too closely, and conforming to the shape of the finger or toe. During 
the morning toilet the finger nails should be brushed while bathing the 
hands, should be cleaned at the ends and the skin pushed back from the 
roots with an orange-wood stick, or other blunt instrument, so as to 
reveal the delicate little half-moon at the base. They may then be 
touched with vaseline and polished with chamois skin and nail powder. 

The habit of biting the nails, sometimes indulged in by children 
and nervous people, should be overcome, as it spoils the shape of both 
nails and finger-tips. 

Never scrape the nails ; it makes them grow too thick. Do not trim 
the corners too closely, as there is danger of the nail growing into the 
flesh, causing much pain and soreness. An ingrowing nail on a toe is 
often caused by the pressure of a tight shoe. To cure it, remove the 
cause; wash the part quite clean, then soak it in hot water until the 
nail softens so that you can push it back enough to insert a pledget of 
cotton or lint under its sharp edges. Leave it there, and renew it if 
needed, until the soreness disappears. 

THE FEET. 

Comfortable dressing is the greatest need of the feet, aside from 
cleanliness. Shoes both long enough and broad enough should be 
insisted upon, so that the muscles may have free action ; and should be 
well and smoothly finished inside. Hosiery also should be well chosen. 
Sometimes a very small roughness in the form of a knot or seam in 
either stockings or shoes will cause a large amount of discomfort. 
Heavy shoes for outdoor wear should be changed for lighter ones after 
entering the house; and if it be necessary to wear heavy shoes the 
greater part of the time, two or three pairs should be owned, as chang- 
ing them frequently helps to keep the feet from becoming tired. 

After the daily bath— and it is an excellent thing to have this warm, 
so far as the feet are concerned— it is well to rub into the skin of the 
foot a small quantity of carbolated vaseline. This should be rubbed 
in hard, and particular attention paid to the callous spots and to the 
toe joints. When there are hard, calloused spots, these should be 



166 CAEE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 

rubbed away with a bit of pumice stone. This may be easiiy done 
when they are softened by the warm water. Nothing is better for 
enlarged or inflamed joints than to paint them daily with iodine. In 
£ short time they will become normal and natural. Weekly attention 
should also be given to the nails. They should never be permitted to 
extend beyond the length of the toe. 

That the daily bath is even more essential for the feet than for 
other parts of the body will be seen when we remember that in walking, 
the contact with the earth causes the dirt to so fill every tiny crack of 
the foot-covering that some of it will sift through ; and in the feet the 
perspiratory glands are also extremely active. As one writer says: 
" Filthy feet are sure to bring diseases to the lungs. If one's feet are 
filthy, there is filth all over the body. It is true the feet are out of 
sight, but the circulation of the body comes to the gaze of persons on 
one 's face and hands, and on the neck. ' ' 

"TOASTING THE FEET" NOT SUFFICIENT. 

For cold feet, the hot and cold foot-bath already described in the 
sixth chapter will be found much more effectual than frequent toasting 
before the fire, or with hot bricks. Dry, artificial heat can give only 
temporary relief. The main thing is to induce natural warmth by 
increasing the activity of the circulation. 

BURNING FEET. 

The long summer walks that would otherwise be so delightful, are 
dreaded by many, because of the burning, smarting sensation which 
results to the feet. This is relieved by bathing the feet in very hot 
water. Another most refreshing and effectual treatment is the sand- 
bath. To bury the feet for half an hour or longer in a box of moist 
sand may seem a trifle odd, but it does make them feel like new. To 
go with bare feet on green grass or freshly turned earth is also very 
refreshing. Children should be allowed to run barefoot in summer as 
much as possible, and well may we envy them the privilege ! 



CARE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 167 

CORNS, 

unlike charity, do not cover, but certainly do cause, a multitude of 
sins. No human being with a corn in full operation can be angelic; 
but the sin in this case consists chiefly in having the corns at all. 
They are due to constant pressure, which should be relieved. When 
the shoe presses on the small toe or other portion of the foot, it causes 
the growth of a hard cone-shaped bit of cuticle which, pressing in its 
turn upon the sensitive skin beneath, causes the pain. By removing 
the pressure, substituting easy shoes, bathing and rubbing the parts 
frequently and wearing a bit of soft silk or cotton over the sensitive 
place, the trouble will usually disappear. 

Placing a drop of diluted nitric acid upon the corn will hasten its 
removal. Soft corns, those between the toes, are sometimes more 
obstinate. Carbolated vaseline, applied on a small piece of cotton 
batting and left between the toes, is the best remedy for these. 

CHILBLAINS. 

An effectual treatment for this trouble is to soak the feet in alum 
water as hot as it can be borne, for twenty minutes before retiring ; or, 
instead of the alum, use water in which unpeeled potatoes have been 
boiled. Bathing the affected parts with cider vinegar is also good. 

CONSOLING TO " LARGE UNDERSTANDINGS." 

Let women with large feet resolutely resist all temptation to imi- 
tate, even remotely, the Chinese method of procedure. Cramping the 
feet does not pay in any sense. Besides, large hands and feet, while 
not strictly beautiful, never look objectionable if they are well-shaped 
and neatly clad. 

With the dress worn rather long, and with easy but nicely-shaped 
shoes, the size of the feet is not noticeable; and even when a short 
walking dress reveals them more distinctly, there is no occasion for 
distress. Large feet typify a solid basis of character and intellect and 
are often possessed by people of genius. 



168 CARE OF THE HANDS AND FEET. 

When Abraham Lincoln was visiting the girl whom he afterward 
married, it is said that he used to go to her house barefooted, even 
when the weather was cold. Sympathetic inquiry revealed the fact that 
he could get no socks large enough to fit his immense feet. The young 
lady kindly offered to knit him a pair, which offer he gladly accepted ; 
but twice she made the attempt, raveling out the first pair in the vain 
endeavor to get the second large enough. When this pair, also, failed 
to meet the occasion, she hit upon the brilliant expedient of having her 
lover stand upon a sheet of paper while she drew with a piece of coal 
from the hearth, the outline of his gigantic foot. In this way she 
obtained a "basis" for her work, and finally succeeded in knitting 
socks of sufficient size, which he wore with great comfort. 

Remembering this, let all with large feet congratulate instead of 
pitying themselves, and proceed to develop minds, hearts and souls 
equally large, that the world may be the gainer. 



CHAPTER X. 

CAEE OF THE HAIE AND TEETH. 

Hair a Factor in Fascination — General Health is Necessary — "Brown in Shadow, Gold 
in Sun" — Hot and Cold Shampoo — Massage — Safe Use of Curling Iron — Brushing 
Makes Soft and Glossy Hair — Fragrance and Silkiness — The Hair at Night — Rules 
of Taste in Dressing the Hair— Test the New Fashions — To Neutralize Chalk-Dust — 
Invigorating the Hair in Hot Weather — Dandruff — Egg-Shampoo — Baldness — Worry 
Brings Gray Hair — Think "Joy-Thoughts" — Teeth, "the Fearly Gifts of Nature" — 
Tooth Paste and Powder — Crystals that Cleanse — Strengthening the Young Teeth — 
Tooth-Diet. 

T3OETS have long sung the praises of 

" Those curious locks so aptly twined, 
Whose every hair a soul doth bind," 

and whether a woman's glossy, luxuriant tresses be of shadowy or 
sun-kissed hue, they are her glory still. 

Oriental nations give as elaborate attention to the hair as to the 
bath. From the most ancient times the beautiful jet-black tresses of 
the Jewess have been celebrated; while men formerly took as much 
pride in their luxuriant, flowing locks as women. ' ' Long hair, artfully 
dressed and curled,' ' was a peculiar mark of distinction of the ancient 
royal family of France. Solomon gave to the beauty of the hair the 
high dignity of a figurative use to express the graces of the church. 

Feminine loveliness and fascination still find one of their chief aids 
in the ample growth and graceful arrangement of the hair, and so 
few, indeed, are the women who to save a little trouble would willingly 
sacrifice this beauty by wearing the hair clipped short, that they are 
apt to be considered lacking in true feminine instinct. Nearly all 
women are willing to give to this part of the person the required care, 
for the sake of the resulting pleasure afforded themselves and others. 

169 



170 CARE OF THE HAIR AND TEETH. 

THE FIRST ESSENTIAL. 

The state of the general health has much to do with the appearance 
of the hair. Compare the dry, stiff, lusterless hair during and soon 
after sickness with the silken beauty of that which crowns the woman 
who is in perfect health and does not neglect herself. The first essen- 
tial, therefore, is to be well. 

HOW OFTEN TO SHAMPOO. 

In fixing upon a rule for the very necessary task of keeping the 
hair clean, it should be remarked that localities differ. In a very dry, 
dusty country, or in a smoke-begrimed city where Old King Coal (if 
Mother Goose will pardon the variation in spelling!) rules everything 
with his bituminous scepter, the hair and scalp should be washed twice 
a month, or oftener if very oily. In cleaner localities once a month is 
often sufficient ; but the appearance of the comb and brush after dress- 
ing the hair will help to a decision. Monthly and weekly may be 
regarded as the two limits. 

DIRECTIONS FOR SHAMPOOING. 

Use warm, soft water, or warm water with borax, and either Wood- 
bury's tar soap, Packer's tar soap, Green's soap, Pears', or pure white 
castile™ Best of all is a soap made by dissolving together a mixture 
of the castile, Pears', Green's, and either of the tar soaps named. 

Comb the hair upwards, gather it in one hand at the top, letting it 
fall forward ; dip both hair and scalp into the water, then lather them 
with the soap. Rub it well into the scalp with brush or ringers. 

Light hair, or that of the much-admired hue which is " brown in 
shadow, gold in sun," should be washed with the yolk of an egg. This 
will help to maintain its golden tints. Mix the egg with a pinch of 
borax and a pint of warm water. A more thorough egg shampoo will 
be described later. In any shampoo a great deal depends upon the 
rinsing. 




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MATERNITY 



■L. Perrault 



The love of a mother is never exhausted, it never changes, it never tires. It endures 

through all. — Irving. 



CAEE OF THE HAIE AND TEETH. 173 

Einse the hair and scalp thoroughly, using clear waters, first warm, 
then cold, and after a soap shampoo one of the rinsing waters should 
contain vinegar, a teaspoonful to a quart of water. This neutralizes 
the effect of the alkali of the soap. Hot and cold water applications 
are among the most valuable tonics that have ever been discovered for 
the hair and scalp. In making these applications use water as hot and 
as cold as you can stand it, for this invigorates the hair and accelerates 
the circulation of the blood around the scalp. In scalp treatment in 
some hair-dressing parlors this is done by soaking a towel in hot 01 
cold water and laying it on the head. This process prevents getting all 
the hair saturated. When washing the hair as well as scalp, however, 
this precaution need not be taken, but the hot and cold applications are 
good at this time. 

Eub the hair and scalp well with a dry, warm towel, parting the 
locks until all the surface of the head has been reached. The use of a 
fan, or the breeze from an open window will hasten the drying process, 
and if it can be in the sun, so much the better. Never begin combing 
the hair until it is almost dry. After it is dry, then is the time to 
give the scalp a thorough massaging. Eub into it a very little olive 
oil, applied with the fingers. It takes the place of the natural oil, 
removed by washing; it is soothing, and a good protection against 
taking cold. 

THOROUGH DRYING NECESSARY. 

Care should be taken to leave the hair down until quite dry. If 
it is pinned up while still damp, the good effects of the shampoo are 
very largely lost, as the scalp becomes rancid, and the hair stiff. 

COLD WEATHER PRECAUTION. 

Another time tEat it is not well to leave the hair damp is in cold 

weather when going out. Children often contract colds and catarrh 

by having the hair dampened in dressing it, and then hurrying at 

once to school. The brush should be only lightly wet if at all, and the 

hair be allowed to dry before exposure to cold* 
10 v. 



x74 CARE OF THE HAIR AND TEETH. 

SPLITTING HAIRS. 

After a shampoo, it increases the growth and vigor of the hair to 
clip off all the split ends in sight. Splitting of the ends of the hair 
results from insufficient nourishment in the oil-glands. If the ends 
are either clipped or singed about once a month, and the scalp mas- 
saged, it will remedy this condition. 

MASSAGING THE SCALP. 

To do this all you require is your hands. There is no occasion 
for tangling the hair, when it is only the scalp that is being treated. 
Run your fingers carefully along your scalp and then rub them back 
and forth for about half an inch, being careful when you have mas- 
saged that particular spot to withdraw your hands to work upon 
another place. Massaging is simply rubbing the scalp all over with 
the tips of your fingers. Be careful not to scratch with your nails. 

DEAD HAIR. 

When you begin massaging the scalp, you need not be surprised if 
on combing it you take out what you consider to be good hair. As a 
matter of fact these are dead hairs, and in removing them you add so 
much more life to the hair that is left. This process is like the pruning 
of dead branches from trees in order to give strength to the living 
parts. If the roots of the hair are alive new hair will take the place 
of the dead which has been removed by massaging the scalp. 

THE COMB. 

In combing the hair use a good coarse comb, taking care that all of 
the teeth are smooth and firm, so that they will not tear or split the 
hair. Never use a fine comb. It irritates the scalp, injures the roots 
and causes dandruff. 

USE OP THE CURLING IRON. 

As to the curling iron it has ruined many beautiful heads of hair. 
If the iron is used carefully and at the proper heat the hair is not 



CAEE OF THE HAIE AND TEETH. 175 

injured, but if the iron is too hot it burns the life out of the hair and 
its brilliancy is gone. If the curling iron is too hot stop using it or 
wrap soft paper around it. 

BRUSHING. 

A good hair-brush, or two of them, skillfully and regularly used, 
will prove the best of tonics for hair and scalp. All tangles should 
first be removed with the comb. Taking the brush, apply it first with 
a short, circular, scrubbing motion, to every portion of the scalp ; not 
vigorously enough to cause soreness, but just enough to penetrate the 
hair and enliven the circulation of the blood, thus stimulating the oil- 
glands. The brush is then applied to the hair itself, from roots to 
ends, with firm, gentle, even strokes. Twenty-five to fifty strokes, 
given night and morning, will keep the hair beautifully soft and glossy, 
and is better than any pomade which could be used. 

A LUXURY. 

A delightful fragrance and silkiness, lasting for days, can be im* 
parted to the hair, if one has time and patience to attend to it, by 
dusting orris powder on the scalp ; but it requires such a long time to 
brush it from the hair that its use in this way will hardly become 
general. 

BRAID THE HAIR LOOSELY AT NIGHT. 

Never under any circumstances allow the hair to remain at night in 
the coil or plaits worn during the day, for injury is done the scalp and 
the hair soon assumes awkward lines, from the hours of pressure in 
the wrong direction. Before retiring brush the hair thoroughly and 
confine it in one or two very loose plaits. This will insure a free 
circulation of air through the hair and relax the delicate muscles of the 
scalp, which are more or less irritated by the pressure of numerous 
pins and the weight of the hair confined largely at one point. 

DRESSING THE HAIR. 

Extremes of all Ends are in poor taste, as were the exaggerated 
pompadours of 1903. Do not follow fashion slavishly, but conform 



176 CARE OF THE HAIR AND TEETH. 

to it without hesitation so far as it proves graceful and becoming, and 
no farther. Nearly all women should dress their hair differently, and 
dress becomingly, irrespective of style. It is a fact that to nearly all 
women the plainer their mode of dressing the hair, the more becom- 
ing it is. This does not mean that you are to comb your hair straight 
back and roll it in one lump ; comb it back if you desire, but have the 
coil smooth and graceful. It is bad for the hair to be tightly pulled 
back, or to be closely arranged. The scalp requires ventilation. This 
should be remembered whenever arranging the hair. The one thing 
to remember is that the lines of proportion of the face should be the 
guide, and the hair dressed in such a way as to lessen and not exag- 
gerate these lines of proportion. Notice your defects and remember 
that what is becoming to one woman may be dismally inappropriate 
for you. For instance, if one has a heavy chin, a few little puffs and 
a fluffy fringe left lying out over the ears will add grace and lighten 
the heaviness of the lower part of the face. A woman with a sharp 
chin should arrange her hair close to the sides of her head with a 
coil on top. 

When a new fashion appears, try it if it be attractive, but notice 
the effect in a mirror before venturing to adopt it. It may be just 
what you have long been waiting for. Sometimes you can adopt only 
a part of that style, but do not be afraid to do so if it is becoming. 

Little girls should have their hair cut short at least once during 
their growing period. It strengthens the roots of the hair and in- 
creases its luxuriance later in life. In fact, it is much better for chil- 
dren's hair to be kept cut short altogether. 

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS. 

Chalk dust, to which all teachers are subjected more or less, is 
extremely trying to even the healthiest hair. It dries the oily secre- 
tions of the scalp and gradually deadens the growth. The remedy is 
in applying something to take the place of the oil. Try this tonic, 
applying with a medicine dropper every night and rubbing in with the 



CAEE OF THE HAIR AND TEETH. 177 

finger tips: Forty-eight grains of resorcin, one-fourth ounce of 
glycerine, diluted alcohol to fill a two-ounce bottle. 

TO "WAKE UP" THE HAIR IN HOT WEATHER. 

If the scalp does not perspire unduly in warm weather and proper 
precautions are taken, the moisture will improve the appearance of the 
hair. After a few hot nights, which cause one to awaken with damp 
locks, shampooing is of course the right thing. Should this be incon- 
venient, a wash cloth wrung out of warm water should be used briskly 
on scalp and hair. This should be repeated several times, and the 
water changed once or more. After this the vigorous use of a dry 
towel will so brighten and "wake up" the hair as to insure a repetition 
of this treatment. 

After a "spell" of hot weather the cases are very rare where the 
hair does not come out in combfuls. The above treatment, or, better 
still, shampooing, must be resorted to, in which case, if the following 
advice is strictly carried out, the dry, dead hair which has come away 
will be replaced by a healthier new growth. 

Just before retiring massage the head with damp and dry cloths 
as directed, then with a suspicion of lanolin and vaseline, in equal 
parts, on the finger tips, keeping it carefully off the hair; massage 
again thoroughly. Few people are aware of the wonderful effects of 
lanolin as a promoter of thick, healthful growths of hair. Vaseline 
(or sweet oil) is used merely to make the lanolin malleable. The less 
of the first used the better, as while the lanolin will be absorbed into 
the scalp like magic during the night, the other grease will not. Like 
magic, too, if its use is persevered in, this will give the satisfaction, 
for a few cents, that few if any of the expensive skin foods will give. 

DANDRUFF. 

This is only the cuticle coming off in particles. Where the scalp 
is well cared for, dandruff will have no chance to accumulate. The 
shampoo twice a month and the daily brushing as described will usually 
do away with the trouble. If excessive and obstinate, however, 



178 CAEE OF THE HAIE AND TEETH. 

shampoo the hair once a week with six or eight eggs and plenty of hot 
Water. Einse well, dry the scalp quickly and follow with a vigorous 
massage with the finger tips. A simple and effective tonic is made of 
one pint of bay rum, one pint of soft water, and a teaspoonful of salt. 
Put in a bottle and shake before using. Eub it well into the scalp each 
night. Never remove dandruff with a fine comb. The process irritates 
the scalp and increases the trouble. 

THE EGG SHAMPOO. 

While speaking of this, which is even more invigorating to the hair 
than the soap shampoo, let me assure my readers that if the hair is 
well rinsed, there will be absolutely no odor adhering to the silky 
strands. 

No soap is necessary when eggs are used; they make a fine suds. 
Use seven or eight eggs— even more if the hair be very heavy. Not 
the yolks alone, but the entire egg should be used. They stimulate 
both the oil-glands which bring nourishment to the hair, and those 
supplying the natural coloring material. 

Fill a wash-bowl with very hot water. Hold the head over the 
bowl, and rub in part of the eggs ; scrub and rinse thoroughly. Use the 
rest of the eggs, rubbing your fingers into the scalp vigorously, and 
finish with a bath-spray rinsing. 

BALDNESS. 

Sickness, worry, excessive study, exercise of the passions, or any- 
thing else which exhausts the nervous energy, will produce baldness. 
Women are less subject to it than men. Sometimes in men it is caused 
by much wearing of hats which exclude the air, causing an overheated 
condition of the crown of the head. In one instance, a man who had 
become quite bald in this way was known to secure an abundant growth 
of hair merely by going one summer without a hat, or in case of need 
wearing a straw hat with a brim shading his face but with the crown 
cut out. Brushing, rubbing or massaging the bald place several times 
a day so as to make it red with the friction, will help in restoring the 



CAKE OF THE HAIR AND TEETH. 179 

vitality of the hair follicles. An onion cut in two, one-half rubbed 
vigorously over the scalp in the morning, the other at night, has been 
persisted in till it proved successful. 

TO PREVENT GRAY HAIR. 

The same causes which produce baldness will also lead to the grad- 
ual destruction of the hair's coloring matter, resulting in gray hairs, 
at first few in number, but soon increasing. 

Coloring the hair artificially is a very dangerous practice. Whole- 
some food, exercise, and proper care of the scalp, will do more to keep 
away gray hair than all the lotions that ever were made. 

If you would keep your hair right you must keep yourself right, 
both mentally and physically. Unhappiness, sorrow, or some other 
severe harrowing shock can be told almost immediately by the hair. 
It has lost its luster. 

"When both the scalp and the general health are kept in a vigorous 
condition, there is little danger of the early appearance of gray hairs. 
The color of the hair may therefore be preserved to an advanced age 
by attending to its perfect cleanliness and vitality; which regular 
shampooing, brushing, trimming and hygienic living will accomplish. 

Remember that no one who lives in a mental atmosphere of fret 
and worry is living healthfully. No surer way to invite gray hairs 
could be contrived than to worry about their coming, or about any 
other subject under the sun. It will bring them. The thoughts which 
travel along the brain-paths have not far to go to reach the coloring 
material of the hair, and the tissues of the face. Don't think shriveled, 
selfish, dried-up, wrinkled thoughts. Think all the joy-thoughts, love- 
thoughts, beauty-thoughts you can, by taking note of all sweet and 
gracious things in the world about you, and yourself adding to the list 
at every opportunity. 

THE TEETH. 

Beauty of expression and facial appearance is greatly enhanced, or 
often completely destroyed, by the condition of the teeth. Their in- 



180 CAKE OF THE HAIR AND TEETH. 

fluence on the digestion, nervous system and general health is also 
marked. One cannot afford to neglect these pearly gifts of nature. 

The first essential, cleanliness, includes the careful removal of all 
clinging particles of food, especially between the teeth; otherwise 
their accumulation will cause decay and the brownish formation known 
as tartar. Toothpicks of ivory, quill or wood may be used ; or a piece 
of silk floss drawn between the teeth when brushing them is more 
effectual still. 

BRUSHING THE TEETH. 

This should be done night and morning, and if possible after each 
meal. Use tepid water; pure castile soap or a carefully chosen tooth- 
powder or paste, and a moderately stiff brush. The "Prophylactic" 
brush is better than any other, because its bristles, being of graduated 
lengths, go more easily into many out-of-the-way corners and crevices, 
thus cleansing the teeth more thoroughly. 

For the dentifrice, if you do not like to use the soap alone, the fol- 
lowing paste will be found agreeable : 

TOOTH PASTE. 

Seven ounces of precipitated chalk, seven ounces of powdered 
castile soap, two and one-half ounces of powdered orris, one-half 
drachm of oil of peppermint, one-fourth drachm of oil of cinnamon, 
glycerine sufficient to form a paste. 

Or if a powder be preferred, the following is excellent; 

TOOTH POWDER. 

Precipitated chalk, four ounces; pulverized borax, two ounces; 
powdered myrrh, one ounce ; pulverized orris, one ounce. Mix and sift 
through fine bolting cloth. 

Lyon's tooth powder is also good; so is finely powdered charcoal. 
The mouth should be well rinsed after using any of these prepara- 
tions. 

Brush all the teeth, back and front, both inside and out, with an 



CAEE OF THE HAIE AND TEETH. 181 

up and down movement. Brush the gums also. This will dismay some, 
but the fact is that to brush the gums improves the circulation in 
them, makes them firm and healthy, and as a rule healthy gums mean 
healthy teeth as well. If the brushing makes them bleed a little at 
first, this will not injure them ; and after a few days they will be much 
less tender. If they are very sensitive, rinsing the mouth each morn- 
ing with water containing a drop of carbolic acid or listerine is good ; 
or rubbing them with lemon juice, afterward rinsing the mouth. 

CRYSTALS THAT CLEANSE. 

Occasionally, perhaps twice a week, the mouth should be rinsed with 
a solution made by dissolving in hot water a little permanganate of 
potash. One or two crystals of this will be enough for a cupful. Have 
a little of the water sufficiently hot to dissolve the crystals, then add 
cold water enough to cool it comfortably. Do not make it too strong, 
as it would then stain the lips. When it is of the right strength, if 
should be a light pink, but not a dark wine color. When these direc- 
tions are followed, it will be an agreeable, practically tasteless and 
very cleansing mouth wash, making the breath sweet and destroying 
any germs or impurities that may have escaped the ordinary treat- 
ment. 

Powdered pumice stone is excellent with which to polish the teeth 
and massage the gums. It should be applied weekly, with the brush or 
finger tip. Lemon juice is good for the gums ; it is also whitening to 
the teeth, and if you wish, apply a little with the brush occasionally, 
but rinse it off quickly, or like other strong acids, it will injure the 
enamel, which is Nature's protection for the teeth, and once destroyed 
is never renewed. 

Avoid biting off threads or cracking nuts or other hard substances 
with the teeth. This destroys the enamel, leaving the teeth to crumble 
and decay easily. Extremely hot or cold foods or drinks are also likely 
to have a similar effect. Strong medicines will do the same, but any 
medicine that will injure the teeth is a doubtful visitor to admit into 
the stomach. 



182 CARE OF THE HAIR AND TEETH. 

When there is the slightest cavity, or indication of decay in & 
tooth, a dentist should immediately be consulted. Usually a small 
filling will arrest the trouble, preventing toothache and more serious 
results. In any case a good dentist should examine the teeth as often 
as once or twice a year. If this be attended to, and the teeth cared for 
as directed, they will be as great a beauty as any string of pearls. 

A TRANSFORMATION. 

Remarkable results have been obtained by the use of "Ostine," 
which as a strengthener and beautifier of children's and young people's 
teeth is unequaled. In my practice, I once ordered this preparation 
for a three-year-old child who had almost no teeth,— poor, scrubby 
stumps where they appeared at all— and in a short time the loiterers 
began to grow, and the little one soon had a full supply of pearly teeth 
as beautiful as could be found anywhere. If you wish this help for the 
teeth and your druggist does not keep it, address Mary R. Melendy, 
M. D., 3815 Ellis Ave., Chicago, 111. 

Eat entire wheat bread rather than white bread. As indicated in 
the chapter on "Beauty Diet," entire wheat contains phosphates help- 
ful in forming good tooth-substance. Hard water, that containing lime, 
is best for drinking, for the same reason. 



CHAPTER XI. 

HOW TO ACQUIRE BODILY GRACE. 

Thought the Master-Builder — An Upright Bearing Promotes Strength and Grace — The Body 
a Priceless Jewel — A Shapely Chin — Well-Proportioned Neck — Breathing Exercises 
Beautify the Throat — Shapely Arms — The Slender Woman's Exercises — How to Develop 
the Bust — Straightening Up — The Supple Waist of the Woman of Power — For a 
Prominent Abdomen — Your Magnetic "Aura" — Protect the Pelvis — How to Reduce 
Flesh— The Walk of Grace. 

THOUGHT is a master-builder. Unceasingly its remodeling work 
goes on, constantly changing the outlines of the features, the 
shape of the brain, and the entire outward form and bearing. As time 
goes on the inward nature is more and more revealed by the outward. 
Whatever a person feels or thinks, if often experienced, will photo- 
graph itself in the face, speak in the tones of the voice, and make 
itself known in the lines and motions of the body; thus perfectly 
expressing the life of the individual, whether it be the outcome of a 
high and noble purpose or the opposite. 

"The very manner in which a person stands," says Madam Pote, 
"reveals the quality of his thought. A noble, upright bearing not only 
strengthens and beautifies those who maintain it, but it also favorably 
impresses all with whom they come in contact and has a tendency to 
arouse in them an instinctive desire to elevate the chest and raise the 
head. 

"All are consciously or unconsciously teachers. They are con- 
stantly teaching what they are, therefore how great is the responsi- 
bility." 

"Thou knowest not what argument 
Thy life to thy neighbor's creed hath lent." 

When woman generally has learned to value her physical gifts 
aright, understanding and reverencing their true source, she will care 

183 



184 HOW TO ACQUIRE BODILY GRACE. 

for herself as conscientiously as if her body were some rare and 
priceless plant or jewel left in her possession by a much-loved friend. 
It is then that, mentally and physically, she will become the woman 
of power. 

BEGINNING AT THE TOP. 

No part of the body shows more quickly the result of lack of proper 
care than the skin of the face, neck, arms and upper part of the chest. 
If the food be not right, or if there be neglect of careful bathing, of 
thoroughly rinsing off the soap, or of drying well after the bath— any 
of these conditions will, as we have seen, cause the pores to become 
coarse, the skin rough, and give a chance for many unsightly blemishes 
to appear. 

The tissues, in their effort to give grace of form to the body, call 
for right exercise and rest, as well as food and cleanliness. If their 
demand be not complied with, they rebel. 

Suppose we consider first what often occurs at the dividing line 
between face and form. 

THE "DOUBLE CHIN.'' 

Few muscles of the body are so likely to be neglected as those of 
the neck and chin. As a result, the tissues often become relaxed and 
flabby, settling down into a thick, unsightly roll. To remedy this, and 
give firmness and shapeliness to the chin, nothing is better than the 
following exercise: 

Throw the head well back, at the same time protruding the chin 
so that the entire chin and tissues just below it will feel stretched. 
Keeping them thus stretched, turn the head slowly from right to left, 
and from left to right. 

If persisted in, this will surely give symmetry to the chin. Some 
soreness of the muscles is likely to be felt at first. This is a good 
sign, as it shows that the unaccustomed exercise is beginning to talie 
effect. 

Another method, likewise successful if used perseveringly ; is to 



HOW TO ACQUIBE BODILY GKACE. 185 

massage by firmly pinching and lifting the tissues with both hands, 
the fingers meeting in the middle; and then smoothing and pressing 
the flesh from the chin towards the ears. 

THE "COLUMNAR" NECK. 

A beautifully rounded neck is a rarity, but would be more often 
possessed had it not been for the tight, high collars occasionally dic- 
tated by fashion. The type of neck which artists describe as 
"columnar," is one well proportioned to support the head. 

The neck which is either too thin or too thick will be greatly helped 
by massage, which can be done by one's self. Place the hands with 
fingers meeting in front, and with a circular movement of the finger 
tips go thoroughly over the whole surface, front and back. A slow, 
easy, gentle massage with cold cream is the right one to develop 
flesh, while to reduce it, the cold cream should be omitted, and the 
fingers should work more vigorously. 

The thick layer of muscles along the length of the breast bone has 
a great deal to do with the appearance of the neck. These muscles 
may be themselves flabby or thin, even if their condition be concealed 
by a layer of fat. If the neck be thin and scrawny, the probabilities 
are that these muscles are not well developed. Hence the massage 
should be extended to them; and the exercise of stretching wide the 
arms, or the use of dumb-bells, by helping the underlying muscles, will 
greatly improve the neck. 

Scientific applications of electricity, also the use of a certain patent 
roller contrivance, are good to develop arms, neck and bust. But 
these methods are not always accessible, and they are after all hardly 
necessary. 

VOCAL EXERCISEST 

Singers have beautiful necks and throats, with none of the un- 
sightly hollows so often found. This result is obtained entirely from 
their ample breathing, which is necessary to the production of good 
vocal tones. Hence any of the breathing exercises given in the pre- 



186 HOW TO ACQUIRE BODILY GRACE. 

ceding chapter, if practiced regularly, will improve the muscles of 
the chest and neck, besides benefiting the general health. Singing 
lessons, or elocution lessons, are helpful to this end, and are there- 
fore of value even when one has only moderate musical or dramatic 
ability. It is interesting, when practicing the breathing exercises, to 
keep a tape-measure where you can use it once a week, to measure the 
chest growth, for even when you do no more than take eight or ten 
full, slow breaths every morning and night without fail, it is surpris- 
ing how soon an improvement is visible. You will feel both the desire 
and the ability to increase the number of these long breaths. Begin 
with &ve or six, and before long you will be taking twenty or more 
each time, with perfect comfort. 

THE ARMS. 

Except in corpulent people, the arms, particularly the portions 
between the shoulder and elbow, are apt to be too thin. Whether too 
thin or too fat, they can be improved by regular hot bathing, by mas- 
sage, and by exercise. The skin of the arms is sometimes rough, as a 
result of carelessness in drying after bathing. Thorough rubbing with 
a coarse towel or pumice stone will take off the rough outer skin; 
lemon juice is also helpful, and if the arms are not inclined to be 
hairy, the use of grease is a good thing. If there are many hairs upon 
the arms, scrubbing with soap and a bath brush will lessen their 
coarseness and often cause them to disappear. 

In massaging the arms, the proper way is to take hold of the flesh 
at the shoulder or wrist with the opposite hand, and work up and 
down the arm with a twisting, wringing motion. Grasp the muscles 
firmly and move them up and down upon the bones as if they were a 
sleeve. This improves the circulation and tends to produce symmetry. 

STRAWBERRY ARM BATH. 

There is in society a young woman whose skin is a deep olive and 
whose arms especially are a ripe olive brown. At times, when she is 
bilious or out of condition, her arms are almost brown. This young 



HOW TO ACQUIEE BODILY GEACE. 187 

woman cuts a strawberry and rubs it over her brown arms. Then she 
washes off the juice with a basin of hot water with a teaspoonful of 
borax dissolved in the water and about five drops of ammonia. She 
is careful not to get this into her eyes. And, to soothe the skin, she 
follows the arm bath with an application of cold cream. 

FOR A SLENDER WOMAN. 

One of the finest treatments, to secure at the same time an ideal 
complexion and beautiful neck, arms and bust, is as follows: 

1.— Bathe these portions with extremely hot water, followed with 
cold, and dry thoroughly. 

2.— Massage all the parts as described, at the same time rubbing in 
either olive oil, almond oil, or cold cream. 

3.— Exercise the neck with up and down and rotary movements of 
the head as described in the treatment for a double chin. Eepeat from 
ten to thirty times. 

4.— Extend the arms straight forward and bring them horizontally 
as far back as possible. Eepeat from twenty to fifty times. 

5.— Beginning with the arms down at the sides, bring them straight 
up in front, over, and down in the back; describing a complete vertical 
circle, with a forward, upward, backward and downward movement. 
Eepeat from twenty to fifty times. This develops bust as well as arms. 

6.— Breathe. The more deep breathing of fresh air, both during 
these exercises and at all times, the better. Drink chocolate or hot 
milk; eat fruit; take out-door exercise, preferably rowing; and don't 
worry. 

The special bathing and massage should be three times a week, or 
daily if you are very ambitious; the neck and arm exercises every 
night and morning. You will be surprised at the improvement in a 
single month. Sweeping, washing and bed-making will help the treat- 
ment. 

TO DEVELOP THE BUST. 

If scientific electrical treatment cannot be had, very satisfactory 
results can be obtained by carefully following the directions for the 



188 HOW TO ACQUIRE BODILY GRACE. 

special bathing, massage, exercise, breathing and diet given above 
"For a Slender Woman." The exercise for development of the bust 
is the vertical circular arm movement described as No. 5. 

BOUND SHOULDERS. 

In these days of exacting, prolonged study, our girls and young 
women find that unless they have a care, there is a tendency to round 
shoulders, or stooping. In boys, this is remedied by drilling ; a soldier 
is never round shouldered or slovenly in his walk. For girls, there 
are systematic exercises as helpful to the maintaining of an erect form 
and graceful carriage, as the boys' soldier drill. It is an excellent 
feature that so many of our high schools and colleges contain well- 
equipped gymnasiums. But even at home, with simple apparatus or 
none at all, a fine figure can be attained. 

Stooping should be checked when it first appears; if not, it will 
often lead to consumption. Shorten the hours of sitting at books or 
work. When tired, lie flat on the back for ten or fifteen minutes with- 
out a pillow; and it is a good plan to omit the pillow also at night. 
On rising and retiring, and several times during the day, stand erect 
with head thrown back ; look up, and go through the first arm exercise 
given above, or any deep breathing exercise. Do this for a few 
minutes whenever you have been studying, sewing, etc., for more than 
an hour at a time. Be outdoors as much as possible, and play the 
games that keep the head up. Tennis and basket-ball are better in this 
respect than golf or croquet ; and it is a kind caprice of Dame Fashion 
that has dictated the revival of archery. Hand-ball, beanbag, ring- 
toss, and other active games that require a raising of head and arms, 
are all excellent; there is a wide range. Horseback riding is good, 
and swimming especially so. Swimming is, in fact, the very best of 
exercises to remedy round shoulders, and it benefits in countless other 
ways as well, developing muscles that are seldom used, expanding the 
chest, increasing the lung power, stimulating both digestion and cir- 
culation, and strengthening and bracing the whole body; and, in fact, 
the mental powers as well; for the energy, courage and self-reliance 




ALMA PARENS 



-W. A. Bouguereau 



Radiating' maternity. The sweet parent. 
"How shall we elevate the nation?" inquired Napoleon of the wise thinker, Madame 
Campau. "Sure, give them good mothers," was her reply. 




SUNSHINE AND SHADOW 



-Marcus Stone 



The brightness of the humble family and their mutual tender greetings are powerful 
and refreshing. In the background, the sorrowing soul looks on at the happy group, and 
sees in their sunshine the shadows that have come over her life and darkened it. 



HOW TO ACQUIEE BODILY GRACE. 191 

which it brings are qualities which can be used to advantage in many 
emergencies of life. 

STRENGTHENING THE BACK. 

Easily acquired and well worth acquiring, is the habit of standing 
or sitting erect, without leaning, or support of any kind. It strength- 
ens the muscles of the back and gives the whole body added health and 
grace. The most beautiful modern women never use the back of a 
chair, and never desire to use it. The spinal column will furnish all 
the support needed at the back, if you pay it the compliment of expect- 
ing it to do so. 

Rubbing over the spine with olive oil, and massaging the back after 
bathing, are both beneficial if the back is weak; and it will be found 
restful occasionally to lie flat, as directed for round shoulders. 

FOR A ROUND, SUPPLE WAIST. 

It is of the utmost importance that the form be allowed to develop 

unhindered by corsets or tight clothing. The muscles of the lower 

chest, waist and abdomen must be kept perfectly free from pressure, 

that lungs, stomach, and all other vital organs may properly perform 

their work; and this cannot be if stays are worn. Besides, corsets 

make a woman's movements stiff and ungraceful. This subject will 

be treated more fully in the next chapter; but it must be mentioned 

in passing. A regular course of Delsarte physical culture will soon 

convince any woman of the great advantages of discarding the corset 

if she would be beautiful in the true sense, and especially if she would 

become the woman of power. I would strongly recommend such a 

course, for the Delsarte exercises, together with deep breathing, will 

be found the best method for all those wishing to develop a round, 

supple waist, a fine bust and hips, and permanent grace of motion. 

There are, however, a few simple exercises which greatly help in cases 

where to take a full Delsarte course would be inconvenient. I shall 

give several of the most useful, for the various purposes needed. 
11 v. 



192 HOW TO ACQUIRE BODILY GRACE. 

TO REDUCE AND STBENGTHEN THE ABDOMEN. 

Any one of the three following exercises will help to reduce the 
abdomen : 

Stand erect on the balls of the feet, with hands down at sides ; lift 
the hands slowly till they are stretched out, right and left, on a level 
with the shoulders. While doing this, inhale and rise gradually on 
the toes. You will notice, almost with the first breath, what this does 
to the muscles of the abdomen. It draws them in and up. Exhale 
slowly while going down, lowering the arms. 

Lifting each leg until the knee touches, or nearly touches, the chest 
is also helpful. Repeat ten to twenty-five times with each leg. 

Or, with the heels together, chest up, chin in and hips back, place 
the hands on the hips; inhale slowly; then, while exhaling, twist the 
body at the waist line, first to the right and then to the left. At all 
times hold the vital organs up, as well as your gradually strengthening 
inner muscles will permit. 

Any one of these three exercises used from ten to twenty times, 
night and morning, will reduce the abdomen; while the hot and cold 
bathing with circular friction as directed in the chapter on " Beauty 
Baths," if persisted in, will not only reduce but will strengthen it till 
the muscles are like steel. It is well worth trying. 

Thin people— for there are thin people troubled with prominent 
abdomens— will find an olive oil rubbing after such a bath very help- 
ful, and there is one other important respect in which this particular 
bath is of benefit: 

ACTS AS AN AEMOE. 

It prevents depletion of the magnetic aura through contact with 
other people. A person after taking such a bath can go among others 
without losing power, or being unpleasantly affected by them. This 
to many would be like a veritable armor in time of war. But if you 
exercise and breathe sufficiently, you will not only be independent of 
the magnetic aura of others, but you will so far develop your solar 



HOW TO ACQUIBE BODILY GRACE. 193 

plexus as to have a most powerful magnetic aura of your own, and 
exert a subtle, unconscious influence on all who come near. May this 
influence be a most gracious as well as powerful one ! 

THE WELL-FORMED PELVIS. 

This bony structure at the lower extremity of the body is so formed 
as to provide a secure resting place for the unborn child. That it 
must be strong, well-shaped and ample in size, is a necessity if child- 
birth is to be made easy. All the framework of the lower part of the 
body, therefore, must be strengthened and guarded from deformity 
with the greatest care. Growing girls, and all women as well, should 
avoid any such pressure as would result from protracted sitting on 
hard or uncomfortably shaped chairs. It pushes the bones, gradually 
but surely, into a compressed, constricted position, very unfavorable 
for safe and easy delivery of the child. If the daily occupation require 
long sitting, let the chair-seat, if hard and unyielding, be at least 
cushioned; and sit erect, not on the side or back. The illustrations 
given in the chapter on the " Eeproductive Organs,' ' of a healthy and 
a deformed pelvis, will show at a glance how necessary these precau- 
tions are. 

A CORRECT SADDLE. 

Bicycle riding, if not overdone, is excellent to develop the limbs 
and lower part of the body; but care should be taken, for the reasons 
just stated, to have a comfortable and well-fitting saddle, and not to 
ride too long. Horseback riding is one of the finest of exercises, and 
to this, of course, the same rule will apply. 

TO DEVELOP LIMBS, ARMS AND CHEST, 

and for a clear brain, the following is good : 

Stand perfectly erect on the balls of the feet, hands down at sides ; 
close the hands slowly while inhaling and rising on the toes; open the 
hands and relax while exhaling and coming down. Eepeat seven times. 



194 HOW TO ACQUIRE BODILY GRACE. 

TO REDUCE HIPS. 

Large hips are desirable, but sometimes they are too large for 
beauty or comfort. A simple exercise which is guaranteed to do away 
with about two inches of hip measurement every month is this : Place 
the heels together, chest up, chin in, hips back. Take a long breath 
and bring the hands above the head slowly, then down to the floor 
without bending the knees. Repeat ten to twenty times, night and 
morning. 

TO REDUCE FLESH. 

The daily hot bath, with vigorous massage, plenty of outdoor exer- 
cise, the special exercises given in this chapter for reducing the abdo- 
men and the hips, will all be of interest to the corpulent woman. For 
the proper kinds of food to reduce flesh, turn to the chapters on 
"Beauty Diet." 

HOW TO STAND AND WALK GRACEFULLY. 

To those who have occasion to practice any of the foregoing exer- 
cises, it seems hardly necessary to explain the proper method of stand- 
ing and walking, for health, grace and beauty ; but it may help in some 
instances. The weight of the body should be habitually poised upon 
the balls of the feet; hips and head drawn back, chest forward and 
raised, so that a line from the chest would drop parallel with the toes. 
In walking, there should be no movement of the body up and down, 
nor twisting from side to side. The chest and foot should be carried 
forward at the same time, at each step, the toes slightly turned out- 
ward, the heels in a direct line. The heel and ball of the foot should 
strike the ground at the same time, but with no weight upon the heel. 

I have spoken in a previous chapter of the importance of an erect, 
graceful posture. It is more womanly, and more conducive to health 
and power, than a careless one. But no woman looks better than when 
engaged in household tasks— after she has once learned to enjoy them! 
—and it is a fact that scrubbing a kitchen floor may be made a physical 
*' means of grace" not to be despised. It strengthens almost every 



HOW TO ACQUIRE BODILY GRACE. 195 

muscle of the body. Ironing, sconring knives, polishing silver, wash- 
ing, sweeping, and bed-making all help the arms; light gardening is 
fine to develop the limbs, back and lower part of the body; and the 
housewife who can do these things, and knows when to stop, has laid a 
good foundation for a life of power. All action is spiritual and life- 
increasing if it contain thought. 

"Who sweeps a room as to God's will 
Makes that and the action fine." 



CHAPTER XII. 

INFLUENCE OF DEESS. 

Increasing Woman's Attractiveness — Freedom in Dress — Freaks and Tortures of Fashion 
— Corsets and Their Train of Woes — Combination Underwear — Some Comfortable Gar- 
ments — What Colors to Choose — Kitchen Dress Hints — Afternoon "Freshening" — 
Evening Dress — Wraps and Hats — Dress-Bules for Pregnancy— Imperative Reasons- 
Prepare Joy and Health for Your Child. 

EVEE since Eve's time, the subject of garments has been one of 
absorbing interest to women. Well may it be, since the attrac- 
tiveness of feminine nature is tenfold increased, life prolonged and 
made worth living, or the reverse, and the well-being of unborn genera- 
tions affected, by the style of dress chosen. The beautiful woman is 
always one who knows, as do the trees and flowers, how to clothe her- 
self in becoming and appropriate garments. 

HARMONY AND FITNESS. 

Any dress that appears uncomfortable is always ungraceful. The 
attire should be at the same time so suited to the occasion, and so 
becoming, yet subordinate, to the individual wearing it, that it does not 
unduly attract the attention. The best-dressed people are those who 
succeed in making you forget what they wore. Such is the highest 
attainment in tasteful dress. The woman of power is better and more 
beautiful than her dress, but in choosing her wardrobe she studies 
harmony and fitness, and that freedom which leads to a graceful, un- 
restricted growth and use of her physical powers. 

SLAVES TO FASHION. 

"Freedom in dress, with physical training,' ' says Dr. Alice B. 
Stockham, "makes it possible for every young girl to possess the form 
of a Venus or Minerva.' ' But freedom in dress, even to a limited 

19$ 



INFLUENCE OF DRESS. 197 

degree, is of very recent origin. Fashion has ruled her compliant 
subjects with an iron hand, and their only reward for obedience has 
been imprisonment for life in merciless steel cages with even the abil- 
ity to breathe denied them. Is it not strange that women have not 
rebelled before! 

True, we have made marked progress. Eeviewing the freaks in 
dress during the past century alone, how laughable, and at the same 
time how pitiable, the array ! 

WHY DID PNEUMONIA BECOME PREVALENT? 

Early in the last century, girls wore low-necked dresses and short 
sleeves almos't universally, except in winter, and many were thus clad 
even in the severest weather. Woolen underwear and rubbers were 
unknown; and slippers or thin-soled shoes were worn on the streets 
in winter as in summer. More than three generations of suffering 
have been the result. 

OTHER INGENIOUS TORTURES. 

Away back in the sixties or earlier, every woman wore a hoop skirt. 
Patiently the poor victims set themselves to the task of acquiring the 
skill necessary for the management of the ungainly thing. Uncon- 
scious martyrs, they endured the cold drafts of winter that circulated 
about their slightly protected limbs, apparently never dreaming of 
the possible warmth and comfort of a closer-fitting style of dress. 
Even the wee girlies were tortured under the same inquisition. To the 
eyes of the woman of the present day, it is evident that the hoop skirt 
is unattractive. 

In a French medical work published within the past few years, the 
author says that in America babies' gowns are so constructed as to 
leave the arms and upper part of the chest bare. This statement would 
have been correct if made forty years ago, and ought then, as now, 
to have given every mother a shiver of horror. Yet many children 
actually survived a season of scanty dre« c <>s and short socks. The 



198 INFLUENCE OF DBESS. 

naked loveliness gave pleasure to the beholder, and this was the only 
excuse for a fashion so unhealthful. 

Some years later there was an era of tied-back skirts whose ugli- 
ness we remember with a blush. How everybody struggled to accom- 
plish the feat of locomotion while her two limbs were bound together 
throughout their entire length ! Not long after, trained skirts became 
fashionable, and brought great inconvenience with them. So a woman 
had to carry her skirt in one hand, or else allow it to sweep the floors 
and the sidewalks, and to be stepped on by the unwary. 

In purchasing shoes at one time, it was next to impossible to find 
them with low heels. We were made to balance ourselves upon our toes 
and incurred much misery in consequence. Many a corn and bunion 
originated in those days. The reaction against high heels was decided, 
and brought about the introduction of the so-called " common- sense ' ' 
shoes. 

Then there were the sleeves made as nearly skin-tight as possible, 
so that they had to be turned inside out in order to remove the waist. 
Nobody enjoyed them, and yet it seldom happened that a woman ven- 
tured to brave the glances of the world, and wear the loose, more or 
less wrinkled and altogether comfortable sleeves of other days. In 
regard to sleeves as well as shoes we seem now to be wiser than for- 
merly. 

Once more let us allude to that abomination— the bustle. Destitute 
of all artistic claims, ugly in appearance, productive of backaches 
unnumbered, troublesome of adjustment, it nevertheless victimized 
womankind. A strange optical illusion it was when the artificial, 
deformed outline of the figure bedecked with a bustle appeared more 
beautiful than the natural human form. Now that the fashion has 
passed away, we are able to look at it in a different light and recognize 
its unattractiveness. 

There was the more recent tight-fitting basque, which combined 
with the skin-tight sleeves, held women as in a vise, so that she could 
hardly put on or move her hat without assistance. 



INFLUENCE OF DRESS. 199 



THE LAST FOE TO RETIRE. 



We have certainly gained much ; but through all these years, until 
recently, the corset has held sway. Some of its results on face and 
form can be traced in sickly, sallow complexions; pale, thin, com- 
pressed lips, red noses, distorted features, wrinkles, lusterless eyes, 
shrunken bust, projecting shoulder-blades, displaced abdomens. Truly 
a list to be dreaded ! But these are only on the surface. Much worse 
are the kinds of mischief done that are out of sight, but no less cer- 
tainly to be traced to this barbarous garment. Its reign is beginning 
to cause a rebellion, and no wonder! 

EFFECT ON THE ABDOMEN. 

Three layers of muscles have been supplied to the abdominal walls. 
These are weakened, not strengthened, by any outside "support" 
furnished by the corset, because the pressure impairs the circulation, 
and the nourishment of the tissues. They become flabby, and their 
loss of power to support the organs is seen in countless displacements 
and diseases. 

Heavy skirts fastened about the waist drag downward the whole 
pelvic viscera ; weakness and prolapsion is the result ; in short, almost 
every known disease may be traced to heavy skirts and their ally— 
the corset. 

HOW IT HAMPERS THE LUNGS. 

No matter how loosely the corset is worn, the lungs cannot be 
filled completely while their lower portions are thus encased. Deep 
breathing cannot, therefore, be successfully practiced by the corset- 
wearer ; and half-breathing must be her portion until she discards the 
steel cages in which women have for centuries been imprisoned. Thank- 
ful indeed are the released ones, that light is dawning for themselves 
and for their sisters yet in captivity. The world is waking up on 
this subject. 



200 INFLUENCE OF DRESS. 

CAN WOMEN AFFORD IT? 

There is never a time in a woman's life when she can afford to 
compress the waist. In the lower chest and abdomen the various or- 
gans are so perfectly adjusted to one another that if one be pushed 
even slightly out of place, all the others suffer in some degree; and 
it is well known that corsets do thus compress and push the lungs, 
heart, stomach and other organs. 

THE "CORSET-LIVER." 

"Medical students have learned to call the livers of the female 
subjects that go to the dissecting-room the ' corset-liver, ' " says Dr. 
Mary Studley. "It is the rule, rather than the exception, for these 
livers to be so deeply indented, where the ribs have been crowded 
against them by improperly worn clothing, that the wrist may be 
easily laid in the groove. And this is an organ which is a mass of 
blood-vessels, through which every particle of the blood ought to cir- 
culate freely on its way to the heart. Of course, it cannot get through 
the squeezed portions. And the inevitable result of the half-done work 
of the liver is an unclean condition of the blood, which utters its cry 
by means of aching nerves.' ' 

The earlier corsets are worn, the more the liver will be affected, 
since it is proportionately much larger in the child than in the adult. 
Previous to puberty its weight may be as much as one-thirtieth, or 
£ven one-twentieth, of that of the entire body ; in the adult it averages 
one-fortieth. 

The American girl is usually lithe and slender, and requires no 
artificial intensifying of her slightness. The corset gives her only 
stiffness of appearance, and interferes with that grace of motion which 
is one of the charms of young girls ; while the stout woman who wears 
a corset to diminish her proportions only distorts her figure. Her 
pinched waist causes her broad shoulders and hips to look broader by 
contrast, while the pressure upon the heart and blood-vessels gives to 
her face that permanent blowzy flush that suggests apoplexy. 



INFLUENCE OF DRESS. 201 

SIMPLIFY THE UNDERWEAB. 

The age of multitudinous skirts, among other errors, is past. The 
sensible woman is learning to dress in just as few garments as pos- 
sible for warmth and appearance's sake, and either to do away alto- 
gether with garments having waistbands, or suspend their weight en- 
tirely from the shoulders. 

Following are the principles which guide every earnest beauty- 
seeker in the selection of clothing: 

I.— The whole body, limbs as well as trunk, should be kept at an 
even temperature, protected from external changes, by means of gar- 
ments that are made as light as is consistent with the required warmth. 
Wool is the best of all materials for underwear, and the loosely-woven 
combination suit presents the best-fashioned article as yet offered. 

II.— The weight of the clothing should be supported by the shoul- 
ders, rather than by the waist. The plan suggested of uniting upper 
with lower garments, so far as possible, is of decided advantage. An 
under-waist, for instance, may be combined with drawers or with pet- 
ticoat. It is of particular value to have the dress-skirt constructed 
with a special waist of its own attached, a waist made of some lining 
material and cut with ample arm-holes. 

III.— The clothing should not constrict any part of the body, be- 
cause it would thereby interfere with the circulation, weaken muscles 
or perhaps do injury to vital organs. This is the reason that tight 
collars and sleeves have been abandoned, and why garters that held 
up the stockings by compressing the limbs have given way to the more 
comfortable, modern elastic hose-supporters suspended from the un- 
derwaist. 

IV.— The clothing should not interfere in any degree with the free 
action of the muscles. The corset, as usually worn, causes weakness 
of the muscles of the trunk, partly from compression, partly from dis- 
use, such that the wearer is likely to complain of a feeling of "falling 
to pieces" whenever she temporarily leaves it off. Excellent substi- 



202 INFLUENCE OF DEESS. 

tutes for the corset have been devised, the best of which are waists of 
firm cloth, not too tight-fitting, which serve well the purpose of sup- 
porting the skirts that are fastened to them. 

HINTS FOE THE SEWING-ROOM. 

Underwaists made of heavy sheeting cut lengthwise of the goods, 
with a lining of the same cut crosswise, are recommended as keeping 
their shape well. The seams are lapped and stitched four times, then 
the lining and the outside are quilted together. The garment is cut 
low in the neck, and is sleeveless. It comes well over the hips, and the 
petticoat can be buttoned on its lower edge. These wash easily and 
wear well. 

Another and simpler way, more comfortable for warm weather, is 
to take a well-fitted waist originally meant for a corset-cover. By 
"well-fitted" I mean one adapted to the figure in its normal propor- 
tions. Stitch strips of muslin over the seams on the inside, to 
strengthen them, then sew buttons on the outside, as high or low as 
may be desired, to which the other underclothing may then be attached. 

"Equestrian tights" of black wool are among the finest inventions 
in woman's underwear, to put on when going out in cold or damp 
weather. They can be bought either in union form or as drawers sep- 
arately in any large city ; but if not easily obtainable, they can be made 
at home from a pair of black woolen stocking-legs with the tops sewed 
to black woolen bloomers so as to form one continuous garment from 
waist to ankles. In fact, it would improve on the regular bought ar- 
ticles if the stockings were left entire, so that the feet also are pro- 
tected. In making the bloomers it is best to have a regular pattern, 
procurable from any hygienic clothing company, and care should be 
taken that it allows sufficient length and fulness. Often with this gar- 
ment no petticoat is worn when the dress-skirt is somewhat full. 

FOE NIGHT WEAE. 

The clothing at night should be completely changed, no garment 
being retained that has been worn during the day. Flannel night- 



INFLUENCE OF DRESS. 203 

dresses are preferable to cotton at all times, both for comfort and for 
health. Warmer in winter, they obviate the chill of the cold sheets; 
while in summer they prevent the more dangerous chill when in the 
early morning hours the external temperature falls, when the produc- 
tion of internal heat in the body is at its lowest ebb and the skin per- 
haps bathed in perspiration— a chill which can otherwise be avoided 
only by an unnecessary amount of bedclothes. 

Some persons with extremely sensitive skins find woolen garments 
irritating. Such can wear in cold weather a light-weight ribbed cotton 
next the skin, with woolen outside. It is better to have the clothing 
worn at night sufficiently warm so that the bedclothing can be light. 

THE DRESS. 

It is a sensible fashion which reserves trained dresses for the draw- 
ing room, and gives us skirts for street wear that clear the ground. 
With such an advantage, we may hope soon to see woman's dress made 
in every respect the beautiful adjunct to womanly power and grace 
which it should be. Hygienic dress reform has given us the graceful 
and healthful princess foundation for gowns which may be infinitely 
varied. If separate waists and skirts be preferred, however, the shirt 
waist offers almost as delightful possibilities; but the average shirt 
waist can be improved in one respect. Tack a strip of muslin or lining 
material around the waist-line, on the under side, as a foundation for 
sewing four to six flat buttons on the outside, and button the skirt to 
it. The added comfort well repays anyone for making this slight al- 
teration, and the arrangement is, of course, covered by the belt. 

The colors chosen for clothing, from a health standpoint, are of 
little importance in the shade, but in the sun the best reflectors are 
coolest, such as white and light grays, while blue and black are the 
worst, absorbing the most heat. Dark colors also absorb odors more 
than light colors do. Indeed, for every-day use light-colored garments 
of whatever material, provided it can be washed, are to be recom- 
mended, though dark colors are too often preferred because they do 



204 INFLUENCE OF DKESS. 

not show the dirt. What woman would like to wear a cotton waist 
and skirt six months without washing? Yet it would not be half so 
badly soiled as the more absorbent woolen dress that she would quite 
possibly wear as long without a scruple. For kitchen wear in par- 
ticular, washable gowns should be the invariable rule. 

DRESS FOR THE KITCHEN. 

When a woman has much household work to attend to, she will be 
wise to adopt the short skirt for kitchen wear; and it is more com- 
fortable if, as already suggested, it be buttoned to the waist. This 
brings the weight of the skirt on the shoulders, instead of the hips, 
and holds both waist and skirt securely in place with no tight bands. 
This arrangement is more convenient for kitchen wear than the one- 
piece dress, as it saves laundry work. Two or three waists are usually 
soiled before the skirt requires washing, especially if large aprons be 
used. 

One woman always makes her kitchen aprons with a ruffle at the 
bottom, not for ornament alone, but because the ruffle stands out just 
enough from the dress to catch any stray drops that may be spilled, 
making a better shield for the skirt than a plain apron, however long, 
can possibly be. 

Some housewives have discovered that the light, pliable, glazed oil- 
cloth used for shelves and tables makes capital aprons to slip on when 
a great deal of baking, canning or other work of the kind is apt to add 
seriously to the week's laundry list. 

IN THE AFTERNOON. 

It always pays the busiest housewife or farmer's daughter to 
" freshen up" by rearranging the hair and changing the dress at some 
time during the day ; either just after the midday meal is cleared away, 
or shortly before the evening one. Of course the morning toilet has 
been neat, but the afternoon one may and should be daintier. It is a 
satisfaction to yourself, even if there were no one else to notice the 
difference. 



INFLUENCE OF DBESS. 205 

What the afternoon gown should be, depends upon whether you 
are going out or not. For indoor wear it may be longer, brighter in 
hue and more elaborate in trimming than the quieter street garb ; and 
the color and material in either case, should be suited to the face, form 
and purse of the individual wearer, no matter what fashion may say. 
Usually, however, one may now conform in a general way to prevailing 
styles without fear of return to the slavish tortures of other days. 

FOR EVENING PARTIES. 

No woman with beautiful neck and arms, can well resist the de- 
lights of occasionally wearing evening dress; it is as natural as for 
flowers to bloom. When the social gatherings are very informal, any 
pretty, light dress is suitable, and summer afternoon gowns may be 
made to do service at such times. But for the more formal occasions 
the dress cut low in the neck and short in the sleeves is desired; and 
may be worn, with proper precautions, by women in vigorous health. 
The daily cold sponge bath will do much to prevent one from taking 
cold; but in winter, the woman who indulges in evening dress must 
be careful to have extra wraps, and should not go out doors from a 
warm room while perspiring. Carelessness at these times has caused 
many a serious illness ; and no woman who has not first mastered the 
tendency to take cold ought to attempt evening dress at all. Eobust 
health is the very first requisite. English women, who are usually 
vigorous, wear dresses of this cut daily without injury. 

OUTER GARMENTS. 

Wraps, whether of light-weight wool or silk for cool summer days, 
or thicker ones for cold weather, should be so made as to protect 
throat and chest. The collarless jackets, open in front, leave exposed 
the very parts that should be most cared for. With this defect 
remedied, the fitted jacket is preferable to looser wraps, as it is 
warmer in proportion to its weight. A cape or wrap hanging loosely 
may be so heavy as to be burdensome, and yet allow the wind to cir- 



206 INFLUENCE OF DEESS. 

culate beneath its folds ; and it is seldom as becoming as the trim coat 
or jacket. 

Hats or bonnets should be of light weight, so constructed as to shield 
the face, at least partially, from the sun. Parasols, so troublesome in 
the wind, will then be an unnecessary adjunct to the toilet, except when 
the heat is extreme. In very cold or windy weather it is well to wear 
a veil (not dotted), but too much muffling is undesirable. 

It is only where either the dress or the health is defective that it 
becomes necessary to piece out the deficiency with heavy furs or muf- 
flers. Not that any delicate, chilly woman should ever hesitate to pro- 
tect herself, but it would be far better to so improve the circulation as 
to get rid of the tendency to chill easily. 

THE MATERNITY DEESS. 

When a woman is preparing for her great task of bringing a new 
life into the world, the question of how she should clothe herself be- 
comes a vitally important one. At no time in her life does she need 
more comfortable clothing than during the few months preceding ma- 
ternity. At this time it is worse than foolish— it is criminal— for one 
to weight the body with clothing, which, bearing down upon the ab- 
domen and hips, causes pressure upon the delicate, maturing organi- 
zation, which may thus be deprived, not only of comeliness and perfect 
bodily structure, but of life itself. In this connection I am glad to 
endorse the Jenness-Miller maternity dress, with description and a 
plea for its adoption which I give largely, but not entirely, in Mrs. 
Miller's own language. 

A few years ago when the "maternity dress" was introduced, many 
women hailed it with delight as a solution of their most perplexing 
problem. To thousands, however, it is still unknown, and thousands 
more, alas! have been too unthinking to realize any need of adapting 
the clothing at such a time to their own highest physical well-being 
and that of the life in their keeping. Are such women ignorant of the 
mischief they do to theii offspring, or are they indifferent to conse- 




THE DAUPHIN —J. B. Greuze 

(Louis XVII) 

A king but still a boy, the unfortunate young Dauphin was deprived of his throne 
by adverse fate brought upon him by generations of eruelty to the people, and visited upon 
his innocent head. 




LAURETTA 

The olive branch in tender hands 
Bespeaks the peace the heart implores. 



Jules Lefebvre 



INFLUENCE OF DRESS. 2tr9 

quences? Surely every child has a right to be well born! "Wealth 
may be a grand inheritance, but health is a better one, as any poor 
suffering creature will testify, whose misery the most expensive doc- 
tors have been called upon to alleviate without avail. And how can a 
child be well born unless its parents observe the laws of life bearing 
upon the birth and rearing of children? It is impossible. If a mother 
will so clothe herself that the vitality which properly belongs to her 
baby becomes exhausted and destroyed, the child is robbed, as a nat- 
ural consequence, and perhaps the weakened, puny, distorted, fretful 
little creature, who is innocent of the cause of its own sufferings, will 
live to become a curse to the world instead of the blessing that it 
would have been had rational conditions been observed before its birth. 
No doubt many vicious men and women have inherited the evil ten- 
dencies which make them loathed by their fellow-creatures; or unfor- 
tunately are the victims of causes directly connected with improper 
dress and food, the effect of which the mother has taken neither the 
time nor the trouble to study out for herself. 

Every woman knows that during the months prior to the birth of 
children the clothing should be loose, light, and in every way so com- 
fortable that the freedom of the body may be secured in all particulars. 
Yet many of those who aspire to the reputation styled "a fashionable 
woman" are perfectly indifferent to this plain, matter-of-fact demand 
of nature. Tight corsets grudgingly loosened a quarter of an inch at 
a time, heavy skirts, and all the evil conditions we are so familiar 
with, are still retained as the months pass, bringing ever nearer what 
should be the happiest hour of woman's existence— that in which she 
is to be intrusted with the keeping, training and guidance of a new 
human soul. Perhaps her baby comes into the world dead or deformed, 
perhaps deprived of certain of its faculties; or it may be that it pos- 
sesses life and all of its special senses and organs in such a diminished 
degree that the whole of its future becomes a pain rather than a joy, 
while its miserable, puny structure remains a lasting reproach to its 
parents as long as they live* 

12 V. 



210 INFLUENCE OF DBESS. 

How to avoid all this misery, both for herself and her offspring, 
should be a woman's first study from the moment when she becomes 
conscious of a new life dependent upon her own. Whatever the habits 
of dress may have been before, the time has now come for a woman 
to throw aside every manner of garment which compresses the body, 
and to relieve the waist and hips of bands and weight. In summer, 
wear next to the skin the jersey-fitting ribbed light wool or gauze 
union suit without bands or strictures; over this wear the cotton or 
linen chemilette if needed for warmth— not otherwise. This garment 
should be laced up over a gore at the front darts, so that the lacing 
can be loosened to meet the requirements of size. The Turkish leg- 
lette should be made on a plain low-necked waist, so that not even the 
weight of the bias yoke (very little as it is) may rest upon the abdo- 
men, and this garment also should be laced over the gore in front; 
and so of the gown, which should in every case be made in one piece 
on the princess foundation, with soft, loose, flowing fronts, under 
which the lacing should be adopted, as in the lower garment, a lacing 
running lengthwise of the darts, to admit of giving size to the waist, 
and one crossing the dress four inches below the waist-line to admit 
of lengthening the skirt. All of this lacing will obviate the necessity 
for further changes in the dress, and will be found perfectly con- 
venient in every way. For winter, the same general garments should 
be worn, but they should be made of heavier materials and with scrupu- 
lous regard for warmth and comfort. 

In this dress a woman can walk and take the necessary exercise 
without danger to herself or the new life of the child which should be 
welcomed by every fibre of her being as a gift from heaven, and an- 
ticipate with the joy which should in itself become the guide to sensi- 
ble dress, and to habits of eating, drinking, thinking, reading, and ex- 
ercise, all looking to the one grand result— a perfect child! 



CHAPTER XIII. 

CHOOSING A MATE. 

She Creative Principle Supreme — Three Great Sex-Functions — Transformation Wrought by 
Puberty — The Sexes Mutually Supplementary — The Time for Higher Ideals — The Mu- 
tual Stimulus — The Perfect Blending of Qualities — Well-Balanced Offspring — Scientific 
Mating the Key to Happy Love — It is Better to be Sure than Sorry — Seek Your Com- 
plement in Mating — Congeniality in Race, Religion, etc. — Bring Out the Best in Your 
Mate — Love the Crown of Woman's Life — Bequeath Health to Your Children — "Marry- 
ing to Reform" — The Martyr-Husband — Hope in Domestic Science — Letter-Writing, 
Conversation and Music — The Heritage of Integrity — Marriage of Relatives — The 
Reserve Power of Intuition. 

ONCE, tradition says, there was a Golden Age. It is past, but a 
Diamond Age is to come. In fact, who knows but it is already 
dawning? 

The Diamond Age, in all its glory, will be upon us when we can 
regard each individual human life as a priceless, sparkling gem, to be 
sought for its perfections and treasured above all else because of its 
physical, mental and moral brilliance and purity. Perfect men and 
women are indeed the diamonds of the race. 

The first step towards populating the earth with perfect men and 
women must be in the proper mating of the male and the female, out 
of which union will arise the representatives of the next generation. 
In order to have a race of human beings mentally and morally perfect 
they must also be made physically so ; for who can bring a clean thing 
out of an unclean! and how can a perfect mental and moral being be 
produced except there be a perfect physical body through which such 
a being may act? 

NATURE'S PROPHECY. 

The sex-element, as already explained, is the creative principle 
found in all nature ; the masculine and feminine attributes forming the 

211 



212 CHOOSING A MATE. 

constituent parts of life. Applying to each quality of the mind, each 
propensity, feeling, faculty and sentiment of the soul; to every ex- 
pression of life in the whole realm of nature, is this union and co- 
operation of masculine and feminine principles. Every new thought 
born in the brain, every idea created, is the child of these elements. 
It is well known by scientists today that both male and female ele- 
ments exist in every human being; but as one or the other predomi- 
nates, we have what are outwardly recognized as the divisions of sex 
—man and woman. 

The sex attribute, as thus recognized, has three great functions; 
those of development, attraction and creation. 

First, it is of prime importance in maturing the growth of the in- 
dividual. Second, by its magnetic power it draws men and women 
together in wedlock. Third, it combines in their lives to create a new 
life, that of the child. 

Let us follow briefly each of these processes. In early life this 
attribute develops the boy or girl into the mature man or woman. It 
rounds out the physical, gives animation, vigor, keenness, vivacity, 
ardor, courage; it gives independence and stability to the character. 
Splendid indeed is the result when this vital element is not wasted, 
but allowed to do its perfect work. This is what gives us the men 
and women of power to move the world. 

THE CHANGE AT PUBERTY. 

Up to the age of puberty the main differences between the sexes 
are mental rather than physical. The girl is naturally more quiet and 
domestic than the boy. She early shows the feminine trait of inviting 
attention indirectly. Quite young, also, the boy perceives that it is 
his part to make the advances. 

At the age of puberty there comes a change— so marked a change, 
at times, as to be almost startling. Although there have been many 
disputes as to the reality of definite physiological and mental changes 
in man and woman measured by a limited cycle of years— for instance, 



CHOOSING A MATE. 21S 

seven— there is no doubt whatever that at about the fourteenth year 
in both the boy and the girl so complete a transformation takes place 
as to make of them new beings. In temperate climates both the boy 
and the girl then assume their specific sexual functions. Heretofore 
each has been a separate and independent individual and felt no spe- 
cial need of the other, except in so far as the normal social nature called 
for companionship. With the deepening of the voice and the hardening 
and expansion of the masculine muscles, with the swelling of the femi- 
nine breast and the rounding of every outline, with all that these 
changes imply, there comes a marked difference in the bearing of the 
sexes toward each other. 

THE ATTRACTIVE POWER OF SEX. 

The second function of this wonderful sex-nature is now becoming 
dominant. The once bold boy, in spite of himself, shows a strange 
timidity when in the presence of the girl,, although he feels irresistibly 
drawn towards her. "When in his presence the girl's eyes brighten, and 
she may lose to a great extent those withdrawing, shrinking ways 
which were hers in earlier girlhood. For some years she may even 
become the aggressor, and her nature in this respect, becomes mascu- 
line. If she does not retain, at the same time, those distinctive femi- 
nine traits of vivacious delicacy and charming strategy, those little 
arts which unconsciously but irresistibly draw the boy toward her, 
those who have the girl in charge should look after her welfare. In 
fact, at this period, when each discovers with such uneasiness that the 
other is in some way a supplementary being, too much care cannot be 
given to either— care to ascertain whether they are developing into 
normal or abnormal men and women. 

It is undoubtedly true, as asserted by an eminent medical author- 
ity,, that "the appetite which brings the sexes together is founded 
upon peculiar secretions periodically arising after puberty and cre- 
ating an uneasiness until discharged or absorbed." It is also true that 
besides this physiological reason, both male and female natures begin 



214 CHOOSING A MATE. 

at this time, with their changed constitutions, to demand a certain 
stimulus of body, mind and entire being, which can be obtained only 
by association with the opposite sex. This is a fundamental principle 
so generally recognized by physiology and mental science that the boy 
and girl developing into manhood and womanhood should be especially 
advised in regard to their relations to each other. 

As the child thus matures, under wise and loving guidance, the 
expanding wings of the soul will lift the pure young life to higher and 
higher planes of thought and action; for it is a striking fact that 
the majority of religious conversions occur during this period. Such 
experiences should never be forced, but should come as naturally and 
beautifully as the other wonderful and prophetic changes that are tak- 
ing place; until the child has become in the grandest sense the fully 
developed man or woman, ready to be entrusted with a share in the 
great and holy work of creation. 

PREPARING FOR LIFE'S GREATEST TRUST. 

No life is complete without its mate. As we have seen, man and 
woman apart represent an unrounded life; only by their union can 
perfection be approximated. A union by marriage is the proper and 
only course. It is apparent without argument that union of one man 
and one woman was Nature's design. 

"We have also seen that man as man possesses certain distinctive 
qualities which belong alone to the male sex, while woman possesses 
others distinctively belonging to the female sex. Many traits, however, 
appear in both men and women. These traits, common to both sexes, 
should be harmoniously blended. A perfect union, therefore, may be 
attained by a man selecting as his mate a woman possessing the quali- 
ties not possessed by himself. It is easy to perceive that in such a 
union Nature is represented as perfectly as may be, and a well-bal- 
anced couple, such as is sometimes seen, is the result; also, as the 
parent is represented in the offspring, well-balanced offspring is the 
further result. 



CHOOSING A MATE. 215 

SCIENCE THE FRIEND OF LOVE. 

If we were as honest and careful in choosing a companion for life 
as we are in our business transactions, we should not run the risks 
we do. Most marriages would be fortunate in their outcome, because 
based on a more complete knowledge and understanding. Married 
without such knowledge, as many are, they are far more liable to error 
and even crime, than if single ; and their children grow up with reason 
to curse instead of to bless them. Yet the same persons, if rightly 
mated, would have made good husbands, wives, and parents, and would 
have been supremely happy in their married life. The quarrels, sep- 
arations and divorces now of such frequent occurrence would be un- 
heard of if all about to marry would be guided by judgment and 
science, which are the true friends, not the foes, of happy love. 

Now, youths and maidens, I adjure you with all the emphasis of 
my lifelong dealing with humanity on this subject, to be guided by 
your own carefully-studied ideals in making a life-choice ! If you have 
wise parents, consult with them early in life about the qualities you 
possess, and those your true affinity should possess. Equip your 
mind with these principles of science, so vital to your future happiness. 
Before you commit yourselves to a marriage engagement, be sure, 
be solemnly sure that you are adapted to make your companion happy 
in the years to come, and that that companion has like adaptation to 
you. As you approach the marriage altar, go forward thrilled by 
affirmative knowledge that all is well, and that nothing better could 
be desired. Then, and then only, can the future open before you with 
promise of absolute joy and delight in your union, and in the thought 
of those you may bring into life with the priceless heritage of being 
"well-born"! 

What general rules, then, may be laid down upon this important 
subject, that may serve as a guide for those who are not familiar with 
the laws governing the wonderful mechanism of the human body and 
mind? 



216 CHOOSING A MATE. 

LAW OF OPPOSITES. 

There is a law of nature of which most people are cognizant, that 
" likes repel, while unlikes attract." Now, this law extends through 
all nature, and applies as well to man. A woman strongly feminine 
attracts and is attracted by a man strongly masculine ; and in propor- 
tion as a woman loses her femininity, and becomes masculine, does 
she lose her attractiveness to thoroughly masculine men. 

Tall people generally marry short ones; blue eyes find dark eyes 
most attractive; light hair and complexions mate with those of bru- 
nette type, etc. This rule of opposites is and should be applied in 
most things physical and temperamental. By " opposites" it must 
not be understood that the unlikeness need be extreme. People of 
medium complexion may marry those of lighter or darker; those of 
medium height, persons taller or shorter. The important point is to 
avoid sameness. For example, two hot tempers will continually clash; 
a cool and a hot head would better mate. Two strongly nervous tem- 
peraments should not marry ; they would chafe and irritate each other, 
and produce still more nervous, fretful offspring. 

If two persons of pronounced motive organizations (those of large 
bones and compact muscles, tall, angular build, prominent brows and 
retreating forehead) were to marry, their children would be strongly 
built physically, but homely and uncouth, wilful, gloomy and unsocial 
in disposition ; of slow mental growth, and subject to biliousness, rheu- 
matism and liver troubles. 

Two strongly vital, or sanguine temperaments (those of small 
bones but plump, round build and a jovial disposition), should not 
mate, as intellect and morality would be swallowed up in sensuality. 
They would burn out life 's forces too fast ; and their offspring would 
be deficient in bone and solidity of muscle and solidity of character as 
well; would have scrofulous or dropsical tendencies, and being more 
impulsive than constant, with strong appetites, they would be liable 
to become intemperate or dissipated. 



CHOOSING A MATE. 217 

Eemember that the same physical or temperamental extremes 
united in both parents ivill produce still greater extremes in the off- 
spring. Whatever Is very strong or deficient in both parents alike, 
will be doubly strong, or doubly deficient, in the children. This is why 
Nature's law provides that unlikes rather than likes shall attract. 
"When a motive and a vital temperament, or a vital and a mental, or a 
mental and a motive are united, the chances for domestic happiness 
and harmonious children are much greater. Even the phlegmatic 
temperament will combine well with the motive or the vital. 

LAW OF SIMILARITY. 

Leaving the differences, we have now another law to consider. In 
certain great fundamentals such as race, religion, and general political 
and social views, Nature decrees similarity. There have been happy 
marriages where this rule was disregarded, but only in rare cases. 
The robin mates with a robin, never with an oriole. True, these are 
progressive days; the spirit of federation is in the air, yet in so vital 
a matter as marriage, it is better to think twice before attempting 
to blend elements which promise little of harmony and much of dis- 
cord. We are learning but slowly the lesson that "God created of 
one blood all the nations, ' ' and because we shall one day take our uni- 
versity degree in this wonderful education is no reason why we should 
be in haste to act the part of graduates while still in the kindergarten. 

One very striking instance of this law comes to my recollection. 
A beautiful white woman, a teacher, married an educated Indian. He 
seemed all that could be desired at the time of marriage; but alas! 
the race instincts were too strong. It was but a short time before he 
relapsed completely into the savage ways of his people, adding one 
more to the list of heartbroken wives, whose influence proved inade- 
quate to meet the tremendous strain brought upon it. Husband and 
wife must be adapted by nature as well as by education. 

Regarding the religious instinct, a glance at history's war pages 
will convince the most skeptical that, like love itself, it lies at the 



218 CHOOSING A MATE. 

very root of humanity's greatest passions. The same emotion that 
raises the soul to transcendent heights, can, when misapplied and un- 
guided by reason, or when wrongly combined, plunge the entire being 
into the depths of misery. I have known many instances of the mar- 
riage of Catholics to Protestants, and wherever both husband and wife 
remained loyal at heart to their early religious training, sad discord, 
not happiness, has been the result. There is always great difficulty 
in such cases, in determining the question sure to arise, as to which 
faith is to be followed in educating the children. Even when there is 
outward acquiescence, that is not harmony; for wherever an inward 
protest remains, there can be no perfect soul-union. In fundamentals, 
therefore, it is best to marry one of similar views. 

LAW OF COMPLEMENTS. 

This is the safest of all laws to follow, with most persons; and 
/or those of extreme temperaments, it is the only one. It is merely 
to mate with one whose nature completes, or complements your own; 
possessing the qualities in which you are deficient. Thus the two 
halves blend into a perfect whole. Harmonious, well-balanced per- 
sons can afford to marry those of marked extremes, or even those like 
themselves ; but less evenly built natures must seek to round off their 
own sharp corners, not by collision with those equally sharp, but 
rather with the gentle friction which both magnetizes and polishes. 

THE ENCHANTER'S WAND. 



The best traits in men can be brought out only by the influence of 
women; and vice versa. We see, therefore, how important it is that 
the right choice be made of the one who is to wield this magic influ- 
ence. The young man starting in life full of hope and ambition may 
have his entire career gloriously helped or sadly marred, according 
to the nature of the feminine influence to which he is subject. Men 
of genius or of great attainments almost invariably owe much of their 
power to wife or mother, to sister or female friend. What would 
Charles Lamb have accomplished without his sister? Napoleon's 



CHOOSING A MATE. 219 

downfall has been attributed very largely to bis parting with Jose- 
phine; while the influence of George Washington's mother played no 
small part in our nation's history. Some women have a gift of in- 
spiring a man to do far more and higher tasks than he would have 
believed within his power. Notice the effect on you of conversation 
with different ones of the opposite sex. One may arouse your most 
brilliant and noble self until you wonder at your own power of expres- 
sion ; while another calls forth only your lower impulses and thoughts. 
This is true throughout life. Few realize the extent of this power, 
yet it is the enchanter's wand indeed, for good or ill. 

If a woman can thus mold a man's destiny, even more true is it 
that a wise or unwise choice in marriage controls a woman's very life- 
springs. 

"A loving woman finds Heaven or Hell 
On the day she is made a bride." 

Love is the mighty, transforming, crowning gift of a woman's life; 
her all. Far better it is not to wed at all than consent to a loveless 
union, or to a marriage where undesirable traits in the chosen one 
cause constant friction and depression of spirits. Not that either hus- 
band or wife can be faultless; but great care should be taken that 
among the varied human imperfections are not those which will one 
day cause the soul of the mate to shrink in horror, or protest with 
vain distress, at the acts or words wholly out of keeping with its own 
ideals and habits of thought. 

QUALIFICATIONS FOR MARRIAGE. 

A sound mind in a sound body, both under perfect control, are the 
first requisites for all contemplating marriage. These can be culti- 
vated. Happily, Americans in increasing numbers are studying the 
laws of health, but many do not even yet give sufficient thought to the 
importance of a well-built physique. 

" There is no other thought in the world so appalling and so fraught 
with pathos, ' ' says Dorothy Dix, ' ' as that of millions of deformed and 



220 CHOOSING A MATE. 

sickly children whose parents bequeath them nothing else but disease 
and death. Nothing can atone for the crime that unhealthy people 
commit against the individual child they bring into the world by mar- 
riage, and against society; and anything that will tend to lessen it, 
or even arouse the public conscience on the subject, is a blessing to 
humanity. 

"When a girl who falls in love with and marries a dissipated man, 
thinks of the future, she doesn't see herself dragged down to poverty, 
a hollow-eyed, anxious woman, getting up in the night to open the 
door for a maudlin man. Still less does she see herself the mother of 
sickly little children. She imagines herself, by virtue of that beautiful 
wifely influence of which we hear so much and see so little, leading 
him up to the higher life, and it is this picture of herself as a guardian 
angel that makes her rush into taking a step that she spends the bal- 
ance of her life in repenting. We can all count upon the fingers of one 
hand the women we have known that have actually reformed men, but 
it would take a patent adding machine to enumerate all the ones we 
know who have wrecked their lives trying to do it. 

' ' The young man who marries a sickly girl makes an equally fatal 
mistake. When a warm-hearted and generous young fellow falls in 
love with an ethereal looking young creature, he pictures himself 
chivalrously protecting and cherishing her, and keeping the wind from 
blowing coldly upon her, and thus winning the roses back to her cheeks, 
as the hero does in a Laura Jean Libby novel, and he goes and mar- 
ries her on that romantic hypothesis. Do you suppose that if he had 
any conception of what having an invalid wife means to a man he 
would do it? If he is a poor man, it means that he spends his days 
toiling to pay drug bills and doctors' bills. Whether he is rich or 
poor it means that he goes home at night to an ill-kept house, to dark- 
ened rooms, to humoring a sick person's whims, to querulous com- 
plaints, and hysterics, and nerves. There is no martyr in all the 
calendar of saints more deserving of our reverence and adoration than 
the husband who bears patiently with an invalid wife; but any man 



CHOOSING A MATE. 221 

who is kept from getting himself into such a scrape as marrying a 
delicate woman ought to erect a monument to the person who saved 
his life." 

But such sacrifices need not be, for a good physique is within the 
reach of all. Outdoor exercise will do and is already doing much to 
transform life from a pale dream into a rosy delight. Excess is to be 
avoided; that has always been the chief danger of the bicycle; but 
golf links, tennis courts, skating ponds and gardens alike testify to 
the presence of the bright, energetic and altogether charming modern 
American girl, who now bids fair to rival her sensible English sister 
in laying a good foundation for robust health and strength. This is 
the right tendency; and the best mothers will prove to be those who 
thus built up their own health before marriage, and insist upon a like 
wholesome exercise for their daughters. 

HOUSEWIFELY ARTS. 

In household skill also— another and important mark of fitness 
for marriage— the American girl is improving. The establishment of 
domestic science as a study in many of our public schools is a step 
full of hopeful significance for the future homes of our country. "We 
shall have less pale, overworked, dragged-out housewives when we 
have a larger proportion of trained minds combined with deft hands, 
to make the household routine a fine art instead of a wearisome 
drudgery. 

A CLEAR BRAIN. 

Character is often displayed in letter-writing. It is surprising 
how many graduates of high schools, and even higher institutions of 
learning, use slipshod English, spell incorrectly, and find great diffi- 
culty in expressing their thoughts. A clear brain is certainly an es- 
sential quality in a life-partner ; and this is shown in writing and also 
in the power to contribute a fair share to the conversation. This 
applies to women quite as much as to men. " Small talk," if of the 
right kind of smallness, is not to be despised. It helps another sympa- 



222 CHOOSING A MATE. 

thetically over many a rough place, caused by some thoughtless remark 
or awkward silence. And to be able to converse well on topics of wider 
interest is still better. 

The chief value, however, of a ready flow of language is that the 
gift of eloquence passes down, often in an increased degree, to the 
children. Usually this occurs more readily through the mother ; hence 
in choosing a wife, a good talker is to be desired. Who knows but 
a great statesman may thus be called into being? 

Musical talent, also, is to be desired, for the same reasons; and 
a good general education. Still more essential is that intelligence 
which is equal to the emergencies of life, and shows ability to weigh 
facts and decide well in matters of practical moment. Seasoning 
powers are of priceless value, ranging far above superficial accom- 
plishments. 

STERLING MORAL INTEGRITY 

is, of course, the most important of all. Any lack in conscience or 
moral uprightness is readily transmitted, and the worst results fol- 
low. That wifely influence of which Dorothy Dix is a little incredu- 
lous, is a very real and a very powerful thing ; but just as in the work 
of a skilled gardener, there must first be the right seed, the aspira- 
tion and general tendency to right living, on the part of the one to be 
helped. With this once assured, a wife's loving, tactful influence can 
do much. Without it, an angel could not uplift anyone. 

SHOULD COUSINS MARRY? 

The danger to offspring where cousins wed, has been overrated. 
Much depends on the similarities and differences of the individuals. 
If they are much alike, it is unwise to marry, for in that case the 
children would be defective. But if cousins resembling the unrelated 
sides of the family wish to marry, they may do so with perfect safety. 
For instance, if a daughter resemble her father, other conditions 
being satisfactory, she may marry her mother's nephew; especially 
if he resemble the parent unrelated to her mother. 



CHOOSING A MATE. 223 

Let no one be discouraged by the necessity for care in choosing 
a mate. It is the most important business in life, yet when the choice 
has been thoughtfully made, rest assured that minor mistakes will 
be overruled in the light of love and truth. 

"There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
Rough-hew them though we may." 

For, after all the reasoning has been done, there is still the intu- 
ition, the inner, enlightened spiritual sense, which if followed, never 
leads astray. False education alone prevents it from becoming the 
safe, supreme and universal guide. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CUPID'S CONQUEST. 

Love the Very Heart of Poetry — "The Spirit and Spring of the Universe" — A Sweet Love- 
Poem — Magnetism versus Soul-Affection — Both Essential — Difference, not Distance, 
Separates Souls — Decide When Alone — Testing by Separation — Tell the Love-Story 
O'er and O'er — "Congeniality" Desirable, hut Not All — Courtship a Universal Intui- 
tion — Safeguards of the Mating Period — Girls, Confide in Your Mothers! — Cultivating 
New Graces for the "Other's" Sake — A Sacredness that Banishes Early Follies — 
Marrying for Money an Insult to Nature — Dollars Not the Test — Know How to be 
Breadwinners — The Best Time to Marry — Arrival of the Day of All Days. 

NATUEE'S pencil never lingers so daintily and tenderly in any 
of her other pictures as in that of the mating-time. It is as 
natural to love and to marry as it is to breathe. And "when a 
man's in love" how the very rocks and clouds take on the aspect of 
the loved one's features! 

George Brimley says: "Only conceive the passion of love blotted 
out from the pages of our great poets— from Chaucer, from Spencer, 
from Shakespeare, from Milton; what a sky without its sun would 
remain, what an earth without its verdure, its streams, and its flow- 
ers!" And Helen Oldfield forcibly adds: "What would become of 
'Borneo and Juliet,' of the ' Midsummer Night's Dream'? What of 
the ' Faerie Queene,' of Shelley's songs, of Keats' 'Endymion,' of 
Coleridge's ' Genevieve,' of Longfellow's 'Evangeline,' of Tennyson's 
'Idylls'? Something, no doubt, would be left of their beauty and 
sweetness, something to attract in the grand thoughts, the vivid natu- 
ral descriptions; but even these would lack a charm which insensibly 
mingles with and enhances them now. Here and there some short 
lyric would hold its own, especially if wedded to fine music, but the 
bulk of poetry would be consigned to oblivion. By the light of love 
when the world was young, blind Homer told the tales of Troy, the story 

224 




INSTRUCTION 



-E. Munier 



At her mother's knee the child learns wisdom, the price of which is above rubies. 
"Who loves not knowledge? Who shall rail 
Against her beauty? 
But she is earthly, of the mind. 
And wisdom heavenly, of the soul." 



. 




GOLDEN BABYHOOD 

Will you ever be the man to tear apart 

The tendrils of your youth that twined your heart 

"With mine, your mother's, or her heart strings sever? 

In sweetest accents baby answers: "Never." 



— R. Epp 



CUPID'S CONQUEST. 227 

Li which Helen has lived through all ages ; by the light of love Milton 
pictured the pure joys of Eden; by the light of love Shakespeare 
dreamed of Florizel and the fair Perdita ; by the light of love Spencer 
created the legend of the Red Cross Knight and i heavenly Una with 
her milk white lamb'; by the light of love Tasso sang the mystic 
strains of the ' Jerusalem Delivered'; by the light of love Petrarch 
was inspired to pour out in immortal song the praises of his Laura; 
and by the light of love Tennyson beheld the fair vision of Elaine, 
'the Lily Maid of Astolat' 

"Yet, despite its prominence in romance and >n nistory, love in 
the abstract is a subject rarely discussed in the family circle, and upon 
such rare occasions it is more often treated as a joke than otherwise. 
Jest and teasing, ' making fun,' form the attitude usually assumed 
towards this central fact of life ; that which constitutes the holiest and 
strongest of human ties, the sweet passion which South has called 
'the great instrument of nature, the bond and cement of society, the 
spirit and spring of the universe,' the feeling which rightly prompted 
and wisely controlled, elevates, warms and brightens life, which softens 
sorrow, mitigates suffering, and increases joy. Counsel concerning it 
is for the most part deemed unnecessary; counsel that it should not 
be lightly given nor carelessly accepted; that the heart should dis- 
criminate with care and serious thought between true love and evanes- 
cent fancy; that its sacred halo of glory should not be used to crown 
an unworthy object ; that it cannot lead to happiness when reason and 
judgment declare against it; such advice as this, so essential to the 
good of young people, especially young girls, is not often insisted upon 
by parents. Teachers of youth, as a rule, ignore love altogether in 
their scheme of instruction ; beaux are not allowed to pupils at female 
seminaries. Seldom, if ever, is the subject mentioned from the pulpit, 
although when the apostle sought a fitting simile for Christ's love 
for his church he could find none better than the tender affection be- 
tween true husband and faithful wife, and although the religion which 
teaches that God Himself is love, and love His best gift to human^ 

13 V. 



228 CUPID'S CONQUEST. 

ity, might well remind its disciples that no love can be blessed which 
is not purified by religions feeling; which they cannot take with them 
to the altar of God with thanksgiving and prayers for His blessing. 
'Love one human being with warmth and purity,' says Jean Paul 
Richter, 'and thou wilt love the world.' 

" 'It is not because your heart is mine, mine only, 

Mine alone; 
It is not because you chose me, poor and lonely, 

For your own; 
But because this human Love, though true and sweet. 

Yours and mine, 
Has been sent by Love more tender, more complete, 

Love divine; 
That it leads our hearts to rest at last in Heaven, 

Far above you, 
Do I take you as a gift that God has given, 

And I love you.' " 

HOW TO DISTINGUISH LOVE FEOM FASCINATION. 

The world is growing more spiritual in its love-forces; yet how 
slowly. Thousands of men and women will never know the achieve- 
ments that might have been theirs, nor the heights to which they 
might have risen, had they but recognized the grand purpose of their 
own interior powers. For the sex-element, in its second or attractive 
function alone, manifests itself on two distinct planes— that of physical 
love, or personal magnetism; and that of the spiritual, or soul-affec- 
tion. The physical rises and falls with the vitality or animal vigor. 
The other, being an expression of the soul, is not subject to physical 
conditions or changes, but depends upon soul-harmony, and its action 
produces an intense longing for soul-sympathy and companionship. 

Both these phases of love exist in every normal individual. In 
man, the physical usually predominates ; in woman, the spiritual. Both 
are essential for health, harmony, happiness and the propagation of 
the species. The abnormal expression of the physical leads to sensu- 



CUPID'S CONQUEST. 229 

ality and desecration; of the spiritual makes one unduly sentimental, 
but of this there is far less danger. 

Thousands of marriages, especially on brief acquaintance, are 
based on magnetic attraction or physical love alone, without soul 
union. These are the marriages that are apt to prove failures. Some- 
times, even in these, there develops a soul harmony, but otherwise the 
results are most unfortunate. 

Magnetic power and physical love increase by nearness and fre- 
quency of association, and diminish by separation, easily forming new 
attachments; while spiritual love, or soul-affinity is quite as strong 
under separation. Difference, not distance, separates souls. This ex- 
plains why woman's love, which partakes so largely of the spiritual 
quality, is stronger than death itself. It is the greatest power in the 
world. 

From these facts it will appear why it is best that the final decision 
be never made in the presence of the loved one. It is better to decide 
when alone. Judgment, if thus given a chance, will endorse a genuine 
soul-affection, but will save one from the mistake of yielding to a mere 
temporary physical fascination which would not lead to happiness. 

For the same reason, it is often well for an engaged couple, as an 
understood test, to separate for a time and communicate only at long 
intervals, and even associate with other company of a pleasing, agree- 
able character. If the inner self holds to its mate with undiminished 
interest, then the attachment may be relied on as being more than 
magnetic. 

LOVE'S GOLDEN RULE. 

Success in love, as in all else, comes from within. Those who 
would be loved have but to cultivate and manifest those qualities 
which they know to be lovable. Be manly, if you are a man ; be woman- 
ly, if you are a woman. Esteem, if you would be esteemed; admire, 
if you would be admired ; avoid all subjects and acts which are likely 
to be distasteful or to arouse antagonistic feelings. 

Men have long since noticed how fond women are of repetition of 



230 . CUPID'S CONQUEST. 

specific announcements and declarations in all matters that pertain 
to love; it is one of woman's true feminine privileges to require these 
expressions. Eloquence stands a lover in good stead; but nobility of 
character and delicate thoughtfulness in all the little courtesies of life 
are of still more importance in determining his success ; while they are 
equally essential to every woman. 

In the early days of courtship it is well for the young people to 
meet often; but always in the presence of others. To learn each oth- 
er's tastes, preferences, habits and views; to see if they are indeed 
" congenial spirits" possessing similar likes and dislikes; for this pur- 
pose meeting in the presence of others is a better test than being much 
alone together. If under varied circumstances you find that the one 
whom you admire acts and feels as you yourself would act or feel, en- 
joys what you enjoy, dislikes what you dislike, and condemns what 
you condemn, not from a wish to agree with you, but of his or her own 
free will, that one is seen to be congenial. Yet this is not sufficient. 
The laws of selection are now to be considered ; for many people are so 
magnetic that they attract and are attracted by a large number of 
persons who make pleasing social companions, but who may or may 
not be suited for the tenderer and more lasting relation. 

A noted writer calls courtship "the very finest of the lost arts." 
In a deeper sense, the art was never lost; it is stored within the re- 
cesses of every human heart. In this as in all else pertaining to love 
and marriage, it is true that Intuition, the voice of the soul, is Nature 's 
highest teacher. Yet so many fail to follow this guide, and so many 
slips and sad mistakes result, that it is well to consider just what 
course to pursue in order to keep the rose-tinted promise of love's 
morning from turning to gray before the sun has fully dawned with 
its steadier glow. 

THE BEGINNINGS OF LOVE. 

At first, the young man and maiden are only "very good friends." 
They have found each other congenial, and enjoy meeting often. Be- 
fore this friendship gradually ripens into a warmer feeling, too much 



CUPID'S CONQUEST. 231 

care cannot be taken to be sure that the selection is a wise one. Once 
let Cupid come within range, and he may destroy judgment before it 
has a chance to act. Lock him out until you are ready for his presence. 
It is the only safe way. 

SELECTION MUST COME FIRST. 

In France, Germany, Switzerland and other countries, the greatest 
safeguards surround young people in their mating period. They are 
never left alone together; are continually watched and guarded by 
parents and friends in a way that the American young person would 
deeply resent. Yet it is much the better way to insure the future hap- 
piness of both parties, and save them from being swept blindly along 
by unreasoning passion or at the best, by evanescent fancy, until it is 
too late to repair the mischief wrought. The result of the mildest of 
these errors is an extremely embarrassing tangle, forcing one or the 
other to withdraw promises made or assurances given; while no pen 
can portray the heartbreaking, terrible results where the error has 
been of the more serious nature, as it is in countless cases where the 
present American methods prevail. Not that our girls are less mod- 
est and self-respecting than those of other nations; but the tempta- 
tions are greater. Thousands of ruined lives, with the circumstances 
known only to the physician and parents, are my justification for say- 
ing that young people should not be thus left unguarded. I know 
whereof I speak; it is no theory, but an actual condition, that impels 
the warning. If young people once understood that wise parents can 
save them from endless minor hurts, embarrassments and disappoint- 
ments, as well as from the graver dangers, by their loving watchful- 
ness at such a time, it would be welcomed and not resented. A young 
woman who makes her mother her confidante has many advantages. 
The task of selection becomes easier ; she has a wise and loving coun- 
sellor to help her with the hardest problems which are likely to arise, 
and she has the satisfaction of knowing that her choice is approved 
by one whose affection for her has been of the purest and most un- 
selfish kind throughout her whole life. 



232 CUPID'S CONQUEST. 

LOVE'S CASTLE-BUILDING. 

"If you have built castles in the air," says Thoreau, "your work 
need not be lost ; that is where they should be. Now put the founda- 
tions under them. ,, 

In the golden time of Love's castle-building, when the momentous 
question has finally been asked and answered, and the happy plans 
are being made for the future home, then is the time to adjust all the 
little differences and decide on the details of the change to be made. 
It is the woman's privilege to choose the day; and she should not be 
hurried. To adapt one's self to so important a change and prepare 
for it in the fullest sense, requires time, and meanwhile what happiness 
could be purer or sweeter than that of the lovers as they thus prepare 
for the eventful day when they are to assume life's greatest responsi- 
bilities? 

Each should strive to attain the highest degree of physical health; 
and each will find it a pleasant task to cultivate new graces and banish 
old defects for the sake of the greater happiness of the other. Then 
there are the practical questions regarding the new home life, to be 
considered ; whether the couple will board, rent a house or apartments, 
or build a nest of their own ; where it shall be located ; how it shall be 
furnished, and the like; together with the general rules of family life 
to be adopted. It is well to have all details which might occasion dis- 
pute or misunderstanding, adjusted in advance; it conduces to the 
greater harmony of the married life. Through all the happy waiting 
time, let Love reign supreme. Together or apart, the lovers will now 
own Cupid's sway, and affection should be freely expressed; remem- 
bering always that the best preservative of love is purity. 

HABITS TO BE AVOIDED. 

Lovers' quarrels often have sad endings; it is never wise to in- 
dulge in them with the mistaken notion that the reconciliation, if it 
come at all, can ever put matters quite on the old basis. A part, at 



CUPID'S CONQUEST. 233 

least, of the perfect soul-harmony has been destroyed; mutual respect 
diminished, and Love cannot illumine the life with the same steady 
glow as before the foolish little shadow was allowed to creep in. For 
the same reason, a teasing or domineering manner, a too great fa- 
miliarity, flirting, even of a mild type, the gambling, drink or tobacco 
habit, extremes in dress, and all similar weaknesses should be ban- 
ished as unworthy to intrude on the sweet sacredness of the life that 
is now coming to mean so much. When young persons preparing for 
marriage lay aside the crude follies of their earlier years, it is a sign, 
not of weakness, but of strength; it indicates true love, with all its 
refining, maturing, uplifting power. Do not trifle with yourselves, or 
with each other, young folks, during this time of preparation; it is 
too beautiful and joyous a period to be thus spoiled. Happiness de- 
pends on keeping the standards of life high, that each may fulfill the 
other's ideals. 

MARRYING FOR MONEY. 

Those who marry for money or social position, without love, are 
short-sighted indeed. No one who thus insults Nature, and Nature's 
God, can expect any result but lifelong wretchedness. If they would 
but stop and think! Is it really the dollars that they want? or the 
satisfaction that they foolishly imagine that the money can buy? All 
the dollars in the world will not purchase peace and contentment, 
where those who should be mated in soul are unsuited and unloving, 
so that each finds the mere presence of the other an increasing cause 
of weariness and irritation. 

While on the subject of money, let me remark that sometimes pride 
leads a self-respecting young man to go to the other extreme and 
sacrifice years of happiness by deciding not to marry till he has made 
a fortune equal to that of the girl he loves. This is usually a mistake. 
If the friends of the girl are willing, the man worthy, and their love 
sincere, dollars should not be made the decisive test. Those parents 
who would disinherit their daughter for marrying the man of her, 
choice merely because he is poor, are happily more common in novels 



234 CUPID'S CONQUEST. 

or on the stage than in real life. If such a tendency remains, let the 
parents think well before deciding on snch a course. It is impossible 
for them to rid themselves of the responsibilities of parenthood by 
denying themselves its rights and privileges; let them, instead, think 
the matter calmly over, apply the test of reason tempered with affec- 
tion, and remember that large fortune is not an essential part of hap- 
piness. If the young man is idle, shiftless or incompetent, so that the 
strong probabilities are that he cannot support a family, and is, in 
fact, a mere fortune-hunter, a kind, common-sense talk with the daugh- 
ter will do more to induce her to dismiss him, than angry expostula- 
tions or threats. If she has been rightly educated, her own good sense 
will come to the parents' aid. If it does not, their love should bear 
with her throughout the consequences of even this serious mistake. 

No girl should marry without a practical knowledge of some bread- 
winning art, profession or handicraft. It is one of the most important 
parts of her equipment; for though she possess all the graces of an 
ideal wife and mother, in the home, yet it often happens that misfor- 
tune, sickness or death leaves her to face the problem not only of 
bearing and rearing her children, but of supporting them as well. No 
woman is a less capable homemaker for having some one talent so 
thoroughly cultivated that it could be made the mainstay in case of 
need. It is my belief, nevertheless, that except in dire strait, a wife 
ought not to be a wage-earner. Domestic and economic reasons alike 
make this undesirable. Simply let her be prepared in case of emer- 
gency. 

It is not fortune-hunting, nor is it in any degree mercenary, to 
feel that as one of the requirements of marriage, a man ought to be 
able to provide a reasonable support. Mrs. Ethelbert Stewart gives 
some pathetic pictures of the heroic self-sacrifice required of a woman 
who marries a man earning nine dollars a week. Equally pathetic 
are the cases of many who wed struggling ministers, lawyers or farm- 
ers. In such cases, a cheerful economy becomes a necessity; and 
will often prove a blessing in unexpected ways. Plain food conduces 



CUPID'S CONQUEST. 235 

to good health and clear mental powers ; while simple dress is infinite- 
ly better than aping the rich, which is something the self-respecting 
woman in moderate circumstances scorns to do. With industry, 
economy and dauntless courage, a family can meet the hard struggles 
of early days and be all the better for the experience ; but they should 
realize what they are undertaking. 

WHEN TO MARRY. 

The age at which people should marry is something which must 
be determined largely by circumstances; but from twenty to twenty- 
five is young enough, and in many cases educational or health require- 
ments would postpone marriage until several years later. The hus- 
band may suitably be a few years older than the wife; although the 
generally accepted fact that women age faster than men, will hardly 
prove true as the present century advances, and women become more 
and more versed in the art of so caring for their own health as to re- 
tain youth and beauty. 

The courtship and engagement should be extended enough to allow 
the two young people to become thoroughly well acquainted, and the 
younger they are, the longer this should be. Two years should be a 
reasonable time in many cases. Love, if of the right kind, only ripens 
and strengthens by waiting, but after such reasonable time, the wait- 
ing should not be needlessly prolonged. The most convenient time of 
year is often the vacation period, and June is so beautiful a month 
that it is little wonder it is the favored one in so many instances. As 
to the time in the month, a woman will naturally prefer that it be 
delayed until after the menstrual period. About twelve days after 
recovering from such period is the best time to choose; as this is 
said to be nature's time of sterility in woman. 

"When Cupid's conquest is complete— when the day of all day ar- 
rives, with the choice wisely made and the time of preparation well 
spent, how God and nature smile on such a union! How the heart- 
beats quicken with joy! 



236 CUPID'S CONQUEST. 

"There has fallen a splendid tear 

From the passion-flower at the gate. 
She is coming, my dove, my dear; 

She is coming, my life, my fate; 
The red rose cries, 'She is near, she is near'; 

And the white rose weeps, 'She is late'; 
The larkspur listens, 'I hear; I hear'; 

And the lily whispers, 'I wait.' " 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE HONEYMOON. 

The Honeymoon Spirit for Life — Go Away for the Wedding Holiday — The First Wedded 
Privacy — The Maiden Wife's Embarrassment — The Husband's Best Policy — Love's 
Greatest Privilege — How to Prolong the Early Delights — Allow No Criticisms by Out- 
siders^ — A Mathematical Rule — How to Avoid Discord — Mutual and Perpetual Givers. 

THEEE was a custom in Bible times of excusing every young 
husband from war or public service during the first married 
year. He was to "stay at home" and "comfort his wife." What a 
happy idea! If this custom of extending the honeymoon for a year 
could be modernized, it would be a great improvement on the present 
method. But better still is the plan, within reach of all, of continuing 
the spirit of the honeymoon throughout the entire wedded life. As 
the shoals and quicksands are reached— and they are likely, indeed, 
to throng the first year of the marital voyage— they can be avoided 
and even turned to good account, with patience at the helm. They 
are inherent in the differing constitutions, educations, associations 
and views; yet if rightly met, will not long have the power to chafe, 
and may even be of mutual benefit. Love's magic turns the very 
stones into flowers. 

Let the newly married couple take a holiday, the longer the better, 
and enjoy together the beauties of Nature, and all that they can com- 
mand of the treasures of art, music and literature; let them read to- 
gether, and discuss what they read. Through the activity of the in- 
tellect the other faculties are developed and harmonized, and the 
affections cemented; and the long lovers' rides, walks, and talks thus 
store up treasures, not only in the memory, but in health and happi- 
ness, welding the two lives more perfectly into one harmonious, whole. 

"Perfect freedom from business and all other cares is required for 

237 



238 THE HONEYMOON. 

the real enjoyment of the honeymoon. During the sacred season of 
the first wedded privacy, the bride and groom do well to go away, 
and if possible spend it where curious neighbors, critical relatives or 
extremes of heat or cold will not add discomfort to the delicately try- 
ing situation of the new relationship. With the most favorable con- 
ditions, it will still be no slight task, for two persons accustomed to 
seeing each other well dressed, to prevent a slight feeling of disillu- 
sionment when the neglige is first donned in each others presence; 
when the curl-papers are in evidence and the quoting of poetry is pos- 
sibly replaced by, or mingled with, the sewing on of buttons. It re- 
quires time to learn to regard these little daily intimacies as a matter 
of course; but with love as a foundation, they soon come to seem 
natural, and grow more dear as the months and years pass. 

THE MARRIAGE CHAMBER. 

From time immemorial, custom has accorded to the newly-made 
husband and wife the privilege of occupying the same room and the 
same bed. The room should be one where the greatest privacy is 
assured; for of all experiences belonging exclusively to wedded lovers, 
this of the intimacy of marriage must be most sacredly respected. 

"For the fire 
Which burns upon that altar is of God. 
Its tongues of flame throughout all time and space 
Speak but one language, understood by all, 
But sacred ever to the wedded hearts 
That listen to their breathings/ ' 

THE FIRST NIGHT. 

Self-control, gentleness and kind thoughtful ness on the part of the 
husband are of the utmost importance at this most trying time for 
the young bride. As Dr. Florence Dressier well says: 

"The maiden-wife comes to the arms of her husband weighed 
down with embarrassment, which only time can dispel. If love and 



THE HONEYMOON. 239 

kindness do not govern his heart at this time, the husband's chances 
for future happiness are slender. Passion, in young women, is rarely 
developed until after marriage. If its unfolding does not come "by 
degrees in the wooing winds of love, the deepest joys and benefits of 
marriage can never be realized. The memory of rudeness and lustful 
violence on the wedding night has made many a husband an object 
of repulsion thereafter. Disappointment too deep to be expressed 
comes to the bride who has found herself in the embrace of a human 
gorilla, when she had expected to find a man whose fine nature would 
recognize her rights and desires, and whose tender thoughtfulness 
would speak more eloquently than words, of the love in his heart.' ' 

There may be kindness without love, but there cannot be love 
without kindness. The more truly the newly wedded pair love each 
other, the more will their unselfish consideration overflow in the 
minutest actions. Let there be no neglect of the little attentions that 
help to keep love's flame burning brightly. The crowning desire of 
each should be to make the other as happy as possible. No human 
luxury equals this priceless privilege. 

PROVOKE LOVE BY ITS EXPRESSION. 

The expression or exercise of any faculty, as we have seen, in- 
creases the blood-supply to the part of the brain controlling that fac- 
ulty, and renders it still more powerful and active. Not only is this 
true, but its exercise awakens or enkindles the same faculty in those 
around. Anger, whether in man or beast, provokes anger. Laughter, 
as all know, is contagious; so is sadness. Religious revivals proceed 
on the same principle, the intense devotional spirit starting with one 
or more who, being magnetic, quickly inspire others with a similar 
feeling. Love is subject to the same law. If you would have your 
honeymoon last forever, beware of the time when the business and 
home cares which must be assumed, are gradually allowed to crowd 
out of the time and thoughts all expressions of tenderness. There is 
no need, however busy either may be, of this neglect to be" affection- 



240 THE HONEYMOON. 

ate in manner. Whatever the duties, let love be kept bright. Enkindle 
the pure flame ever anew, by words and acts of affection; and let no 
mistaken sense of propriety stand in the way of these demonstrations. 
Loving courtesies between married folk should be the rule, in public 
as well as in private. Any lack of them is odious to all right-thinking 
observers. 

There is less danger, perhaps during the honeymoon than later in 
the year, of the little causes of discord that creep in; yet sometimes 
they appear even thus early, and one cannot be too careful to avoid 
the entering wedge of dissension. Instead, Love's welcome chains 
may be riveted firmly by making every act, word and thought in some 
way an expression of the wish of each to add to the happiness of the 
other. 

BEWARE OF MEDDLERS. 

Thousands of marriages, especially among young people, are 
rendered unhappy by the indiscreet, unkind criticisms of relatives. 
Sometimes these criticisms are made with the best of motives, but 
they almost invariably do harm. There are people with excellent 
intentions, whose only desire is to do good, but who are so narrow 
in their thinking as tb disapprove of everyone whose ways differ 
from their own. Trying indeed is the situation when a young bride 
or bridegroom has been unfortunate enough to fail to meet the cordial 
approval of such a member of the family into which he or she may 
have married. The atmosphere of cold, critical thoughts is felt even 
though not a word be spoken; but too often there are words of un- 
favorable comment as well, which sooner or later find their way to 
the ear of the one concerned. Such an experience would take the 
sweetness out of any honeymoon. It is cruel beyond description for 
any person to indulge in such a course of fault-finding, after the mar- 
riage has taken place. There may be imperfections, but if the two 
most concerned are satisfied with each other, the friends who profess 
to love them ought to rejoice in their happiness. Every effort of a 
real friend will be in the direction of increasing the young people's 



THE HONEYMOON. 241 

contentment, and establishing more firmly their love for and belief in 
each other; not to unsettle it by constant expressions of disapproval 
and disparagement. It is not to be expected that everyone should 
like all new relations-in-law, but first impressions are often erro- 
neous, and quite frequently the liking will grow. Even if not, there 
is no excuse for permitting the disapproval to appear. 

Honeymoons are better spent entirely away from the relatives, 
that the newly-made husband and wife may be free from all possible 
hurts and annoyances of the nature described, and may establish their 
affection for each other without hindrance. At this time, and there- 
after as well, let them turn a deaf ear to all meddlers, and listen oniv 
to the voice of love. 

LOVE'S EQUATIONS. 

All those newly wedded who would keep the affections ever grow- 
ing in warmth and tenderness as the years pass, have but to remem- 
ber this one infallible rule; love grows in the exact proportion of the 
happiness bestowed. In proportion as the wife renders her husband 
happy, does she cause him to love her ; and exactly similar is the rule 
by which he may oblige her to love him. Every added pleasure which 
either bestows on the other, increases the other's love; while every 
word or act which wounds, brings with it a certain degree of dislike. 
It is a law which none can evade. Knowing it, a wife has it in her 
power to redouble her husband's affections, preserving them through 
life and increasing them to any desired extent. 

When a couple have not learned this law, and are not perfectly 
adapted, it often proves that certain characteristics of each will render 
the other happy, while in certain different traits they make each other 
miserable ; hence they are incessantly quarreling and making up, never 
being quite happy either with or without each other. The remedy for 
this unsatisfactory condition is very simple ; let each begin at once to 
study the other's happiness, forgetting his or her own; and the law of 
love will reward them with its richest treasures. 



242 THE HONEYMOON. 

NOT FOE SELF, BUT FOR THE OTHER. 

Love seeks to bless its object— is all the while endeavoring to min- 
ister to the loved one's delight— is a perpetual giver. True marriage 
consists in the complete consecration of each to the happiness of the 
other. Let each live not at all for self, but for the other. Fancies, 
whims, caprices may seem foolish, but nevertheless it pays to indulge 
the loved one even in trifles. For a husband thus to gratify his wife 
in some wish, however slight, makes her inexpressibly happy because 
it is an added evidence of his love for her ; and her own affection for 
him is thereby increased. The wife, also, who tries in little ways 
and in all ways to conform to her husband's preferences, finds in doing 
so her greatest delight. The unselfishness must be mutual. To those 
who resolve at the outset never to forget or neglect this law, and who 
keep their resolution, life will be a continual honeymoon. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

WOMAN'S IDEAL OF MAN. 

The Law of Opposites — Blending of Strength and Beauty — Reserve Power — Resolute Char- 
acter, with Deference — Absolute Sincerity — Never Depreciate Self or Others — Ardency 
and Eloquence — The Humility of Love — The Instinct to Hide Love — "Love's Pin- 
feathers Pricking" — Reticence of First Love — Tell Her Your Love — Love of Home 
Life — All Secondary; Love First — Purity Develops Men Who Command Love. 

IT IS a curious instance of the law of opposites, in selection, that 
a remarkably handsome woman rarely marries a man equally fine- 
looking. Beauty is attracted by strength, mental or physical ; strength, 
by beauty. In a woman, a beautiful mind can usually be relied on to 
"work out" in some degree, in beauty of face and grace of manner > 
as the years pass. Mere superficial prettiness is often mistaken for 
beauty, but after a woman of this type has become a mother she is 
likely to look more faded and plain than her sister who was more 
gifted in mind but less so in feature. This has occurred too many 
times to escape notice. A beautiful woman, as we have found, is one 
beautiful in mind as well as in person. 

How is it with man? Does his mental harmony, also, "work out" 
in harmonious outline of form and features? 

To some extent, undoubtedly; but in most cases not so readily as 
with woman. It must be remembered that man usually thinks more 
on the objective plane ; taking his impressions from reason instead of 
from intuition. This tends to strength rather than to beauty; and 
the stronger the sex of the individual, the more evident this rule 
becomes. 

As a consequence, we see many a surpassingly beautiful woman, 
who could have had her choice among scores of handsome admirers, 
married to a man of irregular, homely features, but strong frame, 
14 v. 245 



246 WOMAN'S IDEAL OF MAN. 

superb physical powers and vigorous mental development. Such a 
couple are both well sexed and well mated. It is Nature 's law of selec- 
tion, again, thus to blend superior strength and superior beauty. Let 
no man, therefore, despair of winning a charming woman because he 
is less symmetrical in feature than others who flock around her. He 
may be more attractive to her than any one of them. 

RESERVE POWER. 

Strength, moral, mental and physical, is therefore the first requisite 
in the ideal man. That this strength should be combined with a gen- 
erous consideration for the weak, is also necessary to win a woman's 
admiration. No true woman but will shrink from exhibitions of sav- 
age brute force. No true man but will avoid them in her presence. 
"What the feminine nature loves is reserve power. A man who will 
needlessly cause suffering to any fellow creature, always repels. But 
a woman likes to feel that he could protect her if necessary ; and feats 
of manly strength in games or athletics are apt to awaken her enthu- 
siasm. 

DECISION OF CHARACTER. 

If there is any one trait that a woman most abhors in a man it is 
indecision. The weak, vacillating, undecided man is the one who 
arouses, at the best, a feeling of pity akin to contempt. Let a man be 
capable of managing his own affairs, of making his own resolute de- 
cisions, unaided, and a woman will respect him whether she agrees 
with him or not. Yet it pleases a woman to have her opinion asked. 
But her pleasure is that of the recognition of a compliment; of a 
chivalrous deference to her wishes on the part of one perfectly able 
to decide for himself. All the time she is thinking, "I know he is 
better informed than I am on this subject, but it is pleasant to see that 
he values my thoughts.' ' 

SINCERITY. 

With all his chivalry, however, a man must be truthful in his in- 
most nature. His compliments, his deference, must come from the 



WOMAN'S IDEAL OF MAN. 247 

depths of a sincere admiration, a sincere wish to promote the happi- 
ness and well-being of the woman with whom he is conversing. Re- 
member that to be deceived, even in trifles, is humiliating and exas- 
perating in its effects, when once the trick is discovered. A man so 
unfortunate as to try it and be detected is not likely to have a second 
chance with the same girl. 

EASE OF MANNER. 

In man or woman, there is an indescribable charm in a quiet, un- 
affected elegance of manner. This, like beauty and strength, comes 
from within; from a well-stored mind, a true refinement and genuine 
self-respect which may be developed as readily in the farm-house or 
mechanic's cottage as in the most palatial mansion. One great help 
towards cultivating this ease of manner, so desirable in all, is to never 
depreciate one's self or others, even in thought. This genuine self- 
respect, and respect for others, will prove the best of foundations on 
which the few necessary rules of outward conduct can rest; and it 
marks the true gentleman or gentlewoman. A woman cannot well 
respect a man who has not, to some extent, this innate respect for 
himself. 

APPRECIATION. 

Let no lover imagine that he can win a woman the more readily 
after a period of assumed indifference on his part. That piques a 
woman's pride, but it also repels her. She may, indeed, exert herself 
to attract but it is more likely to be with the unworthy object of tri- 
umphing over him than of returning his tardily expressed affections ; 
and in fact, he deserves nothing better; for insincerity begets insin- 
cerity, and a man's love, to appeal to a woman's heart, must be frankly 
and ardently expressed. It is at the very basis of feminine nature to 
require such expressions and assurances, oft-repeated. The selection 
once made, let Love be blind to the defects of the chosen one, seeing 
and magnifying only her good qualities; and let this admiration and 
tenderness be expressed without stint. Praise and compliments are 



248 WOMAN'S IDEAL OF MAN. 

indescribably dear to the heart of a woman when she knows they come 
straight from the inmost soul of one whom she is learning to regard 
as apart from all other men. It pleases her to find that she is the 
object uppermost in his thoughts, and the knowledge of his feelings 
will, if she is a true woman, soon lead to an understanding of her own. 

THE ELOQUENT MAN. 

Men who converse well have a great advantage; also those who 
have a gift at public speaking. Eloquence is one of Cupid's best 
weapons, and a man who can sway audiences in a noble cause is able 
both to win his bride and to make her position in life an honored one, 
for he will have many friends, and the key to success and the highest 
usefulness is within his grasp. Still, a woman may well recognize at 
the outset that she must pay some penalty for having a popular hus- 
band; for whether he is in the ministry or the legislature, or on a 
lecture platform, the public will make such heavy demands upon his 
time as to create some jealousy on the part of the wife, if such a 
feeling be not warded off by an admixture of mutual love, generosity, 
tact and common sense. 

SHYNESS OFTEN A PROOF OF LOVE. 

Sometimes the lover is tongue-tied from very shyness. "It is 
worthy of note," says Helen Oldfield, "that the bigger a man is, the 
more likely is he to tremble in the presence of some wee woman who 
probably is ready at the first call to fall down and worship his manly 
strength. But the fact never occurs to him. His fear paralyzes all 
his faculties. 

"The girl who would fain be altogether lovely to the man of her 
choice is stiff to the point of ungraciousness, not to say rudeness, re- 
pelling his advances, and making him believe himself indifferent to 
her, if not actually disliked. 

"This miserable frame of mind, which the English call bashf ill- 
ness, the French mauvaise honte, is, to those who have eyes to see be- 
low the surface, one of the surest indications of love. With the man 



WOMAN'S IDEAL OF MAN. 249 

it Is the effect of the exalted admiration which he entertains for the 
woman who has "enthralled him; the humility caused by the sense of 
his own unworthiness as compared with so much perfection. With 
the woman it is a more complex emotion; the instinct to hide her real 
feelings, to avoid giving herself away, literally and figuratively, com- 
bined with the harrowing doubt as to whether she may find favor in 
the eyes of her king among men. True love is always humble and 
self-abasing. 

u 'Love took up the harp of life, and smote on all its chords with 

might ; 
Smote the chord of self, which, trembling, passed in music out of 

sight.' 

"A lover's humility is an added sense, which, when it is not out of 
proportion, may be an attraction of no mean importance in the fur- 
therance of his suit, provided the woman he loves is clever enough to 
understand it and him. When the two who are interested have pre- 
viously been upon terms of ordinary friendship, this sudden shyness 
and standoffishness is all the more certainly a sign of the tender 
passion. The trouble is that it so often leads to misunderstanding. 
When a woman perceives an inexplicable and sudden change in the 
manner towards her of a man whom she has known for years; when 
in place of his accustomed politeness and good fellowship he becomes 
almost rude, even churlish in his behavior, she is naturally surprised, 
and if she is upon terms of intimacy with his sisters and cousins she 
is apt to be wounded or indignant at his apparent dislike for her— 
a dislike which she has done nothing to merit and cannot account for. 
However, she need not worry ; it is only the pinf eathers of love prick- 
ing as they grow. The dawning of affection is not infrequently ac- 
companied by the manifestation of such contrariness as this. Some- 
times, even, the man who finds himself smitten, and 'struck all of a 
heap,' as the saying goes, has been positively discourteous to the 
object of his love, simply because he was for the moment swept from 



256 WOMAN'S IDEAL OF MAN. 

his balance by the overpowering fear lest his suit might not be 
acceptable to her. Which is hard on the girl, who must leave it to 
him to make all the advances. So usual is this diffidence, as a trait 
of genuine love, that a woman is fairly justifiable in distrusting the 
sincerity of the admirer who woos her glibly and easily offhand. 

" 'It is with feelings as with waters; 

The shallow murmur, but the deep are dumb.' 

"First love, also, is usually more reticent than the attacks which 
come afterwards. The man who is in the toils, unaccustomed to the 
symptoms, scarcely understands what is the matter with him, and, 
being at a loss what to do, does nothing, and is in all probability 
morose and unsociable while doing it. Meanwhile, it occasionally 
happens that some other fellow, less in love, but with all his wits 
about him, and his head level above his heart, woos and wins the 
woman whom No. 1 adores at a distance. For in this world not much 
is to be had without an effort; not many things are given unasked." 

Let the faint-hearted lover, therefore, gather courage, for with 
most women, though a lover's humility be an added attraction if 
understood, it will make shipwreck of all their hopes when carried to 
extremes. A man of true heart and noble impulses, may well have 
confidence in himself enough to express his love. It is the manly, 
and therefore the successful course. 

DOMESTIC TASTES. 

A man who is fond of home life is more admired by women than 
one who has no such domestic tastes. So large a proportion of a 
woman's life and interests is centered in the home, that her husband, 
to avoid being a disappointment to her, must love and appreciate the 
home life, also. While business takes him out into the world for a 
large share of his time, it ought to be the case that neither club life, 
politics, amusements nor any other interest can have one-tenth the 
attraction for him possessed by the home delights shared with the 
life-companion he has chosen. 






WOMAN'S IDEAL OF MAN. 251 

CONSTANCY. 

In all cases a woman wishes to feel assured that she is first in her 
husband's affections. Money-making, ambition to acquire fame, social 
popularity, all must be secondary, and forever remain secondary, with 
him if he would satisfy her. Hence a man's need of care to avoid 
wounding his bride by apparent decrease of interest as the honey- 
moon gives place to the work-a-day time when business distracts the 
mind but need not distract the heart. Eemember to give love the first 
place, then and always; and it will sweeten the toil unspeakably. 

To sum up, then, the ideal man, according to a woman's mind, is 
strong, brave, generous, kind and tender; full of reserve power; has 
decision of character; is sincere and self-respecting, ardent and elo- 
quent; exalts her far above himself, yet hesitates not too long to 
express his love; appreciates his home and is true as steel. In other 
words, he is a manly man. Purity of life, with conservation of the 
sex-force, will tend to the development of such men; reverent study 
of the creative principle will tend to produce them. As Dr. Hunter 
says in his "Manhood, Wrecked and Eescued": "There are speci- 
mens of manhood whom we cannot pass on the street without admira- 
tion; we involuntarily turn round and look at them as they move on 
with the tread of a giant. There are kings of the stage, the platform, 
the pulpit, the bar and the senate, who need but to speak and to stand 
erect, when all eyes are riveted and all hearts are carried away with 
a sweet captivity. These men inherited noble forms and high intel- 
lectual faculties, and have lived in obedience to natural law." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

WHAT MAREIAGE INVOLVES. 

*£&e Hope of the Race — The Foundation of Life — Artistic Weaving of Ideal into Common- 
place — Importance of Love-Courtesies — No Neglect for the Lonely One — Business Must 
Not Crowd Out Kisses — Gentle in Criticism; Lavish in Praise — Never Scold or Sneer 
— Exclude Meddlers and Critics — How One Couple Came to an Understanding — No 
Striving to Eule — Love's Enthusiasm Supplies Lack of Training — Co-operation of Both 
in Home Problems — Recreation Preserves Youth — The Italian Senator's Pungent Com- 
ments on Married Life — Love Begets Love — The Art of Putting Things — Taming the 
Male Animal — Establish a Home of Your Own — The Pedestal of Absolute Truthfulness 
— The Love that Grows — Wise Absences — Purity Love's Preservative — Growing Har- 
mony for Love's Sake — Hope for All. 

STRONGEST, most intimate, most enduring in the world is the 
relation of husband and wife. It is the hope of the race; the 
source of all other relations, and at the foundations of life itself. 
More tender than the tie between brother and sister ; before even that 
of parent and child is this holiest of all bonds, completing all that 
is incomplete in man or woman, and inciting to a higher moral de- 
velopment. 

To the rightly mated, many of the most disappointing experiences 
of married life will seem as a dream, a something distant and impos- 
sible—belonging to less fortunate lives, but not to theirs. Happy 
indeed are such willing captives of Cupid ! Wisdom and Love are safe 
and gentle guides to the entrance to the new home. Yet on the 
threshold, as the sericus tasks of life are assumed, even the happiest 
will find problems. To help in their solution let us consider a few 
of those most frequently arising. 

ESTABLISHING THE HOME. 

Life and its chief inspiration, love, are made up of the blending 
of two elements— the spiritual and the physical. The spiritual glori- 

252 



WHAT MAKBIAGE INVOLVES. 253 

fies, while the physical sustains. In establishing family life, the rosy 
dreams of courtship and the honeymoon must have, not a rude, but a 
healthy awakening ; for such prosaic questions as those of food, shelter 
and clothing now occupy a prominent part in the thoughts of both, 
and to keep up the poetry and charm of life under such circumstances 
will require something of the artist's skill in weaving the beautiful 
threads of idealism into the commonplace. Yet it can be done, and by 
remembering to include love-making as an indispensable part of the 
daily routine of home-making, marriage can be kept from descending 
to the material plane, even in the midst of homely surroundings and 
prosaic tasks. 

The one thing of first importance in establishing a home, is to 
include in it the loving courtesies, the thoughtful attentions that mean 
so much. Especially are these needful to the happiness of the young 
wife, into whose life marriage has brought a greater change than it 
usually brings to her husband. A man may have the same business, 
the same associates, the same scenes during many hours of each day, 
as before marriage; but the girl who leaves her parents' home must at 
the best have long, lonely hours, deprived of all the old surroundings 
and not yet accustomed to the new. The thoughtful husband will con- 
sider this, and be careful to avoid even a trifling neglect of kindness to 
one who is thus struggling with a homesickness no less real because 
unacknowledged. 

THE FORGOTTEN KISS. 

Whatever else is forgotten or neglected, therefore, do not let it 
be this. 

"He did not even remember that in parting he had withheld the 
usual kiss. Thoughts of business had intruded themselves even into 
his home, and claimed to share the hours sacred to domestic tran- 
quillity. The merchant had risen for the time superior to the husband. 

"When Edward met his wife at the falling of twilight it was with 
a lover's ardor. Not only one kiss was bestowed, but many. In the 



254 WHAT MARRIAGE INVOLVES. 

warm sunshine of his presence the clouds which had veiled her spirit 
for hours were scattered into nothingness. 

"And yet the memory of that forgotten kiss remained as an un- 
welcome guest. On the next day, and the next, and every day for a 
week, the expected kiss was given, yet ever and ever, in her hours of 
loneliness, would thought go wandering back to the hour when her 
husband left her without this token of his love, and trouble the crystal 
waters of her soul." 

POLISHING ROUGH DIAMONDS. 

Habits of order, neatness, industry and economy are desirable in 
one who is to help establish the new home. It is well to appreciate 
such traits at their full value, while remembering that Love is a 
wonderful teacher, and that in one otherwise suitable, such habits may 
be cultivated after marriage. One cannot reasonably expect to find 
many diamonds without a flaw. The young wife's over-critical hus- 
band may possibly even be an uncut diamond himself, and until the 
roughnesses are all polished away in one's own nature, it is well to be 
gentle in criticism of others, content with a general suitability and the 
great essentials. The molding power of a true marriage will accom- 
plish much, in the smoothing away of minor defects; and that, too, 
without even pointing them out. 

BETTER PRAISE THAN BLAME. 

The unpardonable offense of a blow to vanity— a sneer at defects, 
personal or mental, has created wider havoc amongst the domesticities 
of life than even ill usage. A woman is too often fed on flatteries by 
the lover to readily pardon the blunt truths of the husband. She can- 
not understand that having once been perfect in his eyes, she should 
ever cease to possess perfection. His one unpardonable sin is com- 
mitted when he points out her defects instead of magnifying her good 
qualities. Habitual scolding or fault-finding on the part of either 
husband or wife is fatal to the growth, or even the preservation, of 
love. Prof. Fowler does not state the case too strongly when he calls 



WHAT MABBIAGE INVOLVES. 255 

the scolding mate "a fool." The habit is destructive of all that is 
most precious, and should be guarded against as if it were a pestilence. 
Each should be, if not perfect in the other's eyes, at least on the road 
to perfection. This, with every sincere, aspiring soul, is literally true, 
and it is the part of conjugal sympathy and discernment to see it. 
"When the failings appear, the less they are noticed the better, and no 
thanks are due to any outside critic who searches them out and pro- 
claims them. 

The same caution against meddlers in the honeymoon, applies all 
through life. Persons who would sow seeds of discord or introduce 
even the faintest shadow of discontent in the sacred precincts of home, 
should be avoided. Even the zealous, well-meaning missionary or 
reformer is no exception; for, as a rule, such fail to recognize that 
marriage itself, in its perfection, is the highest and holiest of life's 
missions, chosen by a wise Creator as the most powerful of all means 
of reforming the race. One who would say a word to make a wife 
dissatisfied with her husband's religious, political or other views, is 
far from being a true friend, and should be gently, but decidedly 
excluded from further intimate acquaintance, as long as such a ten- 
dency remains. 

While the soft answer will usually turn away wrath, yet there are 
exceptional times when a mistaken line of thought and conduct can 
be better changed by being first shown as in a mirror. A young 
husband was so annoyed by the lack of order displayed by his girl- 
wife, whom he loved dearly, that he spoke with unconscious and almost 
brutal sharpness, entirely out of proportion to the offence, concluding 
with, "The fact is, I am a little disappointed in you!" Then, amazed 
at the burst of grief which followed, he added, "Bessie, I thought you 
a reasonable woman, but all this is very unreasonable." But the 
little wife, for all her sensitiveness, had some spirit, and common sense 
as well. Her tears ceased to flow, and she made answer, "And I 
thought you a kind and reasonable man!" 

A little startled by this unlooked-for response, the husband asked, 



256 WHAT MAEK1AGE INVOLVES. 

"In what respect, pray, have I shown myself lacking in kindness and 
reason?" 

"In making the position of a few books on a library shelf of more 
importance than a kind and gentle demeanor towards your wife, who 
has no thought or wish but to please yon ! ' ' 

And he was logical enough to see the matter thus presented to his 
reason in its true light, brave enough to acknowledge it ; and both were 
helped by the better understanding that followed. Disorder and im- 
patience were alike banished from that household ; not all at once, but 
by successive attempts, as each tried to please the other. A man will 
understand reasoning, when he will not understand tears or moody 
silence. 

It is not often, however, that the "clearing up showers" will need 
to intrude themselves. The fewer such encounters, the better as a rule ; 
and as the years pass, a perfect mutual understanding will prevent 
them from occurring at all. 

THERE MUST BE NO STRUGGLE FOR MASTERY. 

In a true marriage, there should be no thought of ruling or being 
ruled, yet it is not unusual to hear one woman say to another, "Oh! 
you spoil your husband! I wouldn't let mine do such a thing!" Such 
a remark is a sufficient guarantee of that household. It is eloquent 
of henpecking, squabbles, disagreements, and—most vital of all— the 
struggle for mastery which too often embitters home life and estranges 
hearts that once vowed love, honor and truth to each other. There 
are many men who are spoiled as husbands by the mere fact of being 
tied down to discipline and bondage. 

THE HOUSEKEEPING PROBLEM, 

It is often necessary for a young wife to learn all the mysteries 
of housekeeping after marriage. This is not the ideal condition of 
affairs, but the problem can be bravely met. Concentrating the mind 
on the work in hand, whatever it may be, makes of that work a delight 
as well as a piece of fine art. That is why some girls who have %hown 



WHAT MARRIAGE INVOLVES. 257 

little inclination towards housework learn with surprising quickness 
when once in a home of their own. It is the enthusiasm born of love ; 
but how much better to have the knowledge as part of the education, 
thus avoiding the many absurd mistakes which are inevitable to the 
novice, however well-meaning. The time is surely coming when a girl 
who knows nothing of practical housekeeping will be considered as 
deficient in education as if she were unable to read and write. 

The woman of power and of practical resources will need to know 
something of household hygiene; of food values, the care of sleeping 
apartments, ventilation, heating, drains and the proper disposal of 
garbage. She should no more be expected to perform all the complex 
duties of the household without assistance than a man would be 
expected to carry on his own entire business without hiring help. Each 
should know something of the daily interests and duties of the other. 
Many a truly-loved wife has been sacrificed because neither she nor her 
husband realized that the strength of one is not sufficient to perform 
the work of two or three, including the work which requires the most 
vitality of all, the bearing of children. With suitable help, and a 
husband's appreciation, a wife will take delight in "looking well to 
the ways of her household/ ' however inexperienced she may be to 
begin with. 

A MAN'S BEST BUSINESS POLICY. 

A wife should have some insight into her husband's business; 
enough to enable her to bring her fine intuitional powers to his aid 
in advising on delicate points, and also to avoid mistakes in her own 
field of managing the household expenses. No woman can economize 
or plan wisely until she knows her husband's income, and the best 
thing he can do in all cases is to take her into his confidence and 
initiate her, in a degree, into the mysteries of how that income is 
produced. Both are equal partners ; he furnishing the source of supply 
for the household needs, she caring for, arranging and preparing the 
necessary materials. Neither should be wholly ignorant of the duties 
of the other. 



258 WHAT MARRIAGE INVOLVES. 

DIVERSIONS. 

Both husband and wife must pay due attention to health, and to do 
this, recreation is essential. Indeed, it is a duty as imperative as any 
other. Overwork is the poorest sort of economy. That woman is 
wise who keeps herself young and bright by a quiet period of relaxa- 
tion once or twice during each day, even if for no more than twenty 
minutes; and that husband is wise who insists upon her doing it. It 
is so easy for women to drift into the habit of letting every moment 
be filled with cares, that even affectionate husbands are sometimes 
unobserving and in time grow seemingly indifferent to the exhausted 
conditions resulting, until sickness forces them on the attention. Fur- 
ther, it is well not only to provide for these " breathing spells" of 
perfect rest, but for occasional diversions in the form of rides, walks, 
music and social gatherings. If fond of dancing before marriage, by 
all means include that in the recreations afterwards; and let change 
of scene for a few weeks each year be a regular custom. It is a 
significant fact that 

MORE FARMERS' WIVES GO INSANE 

every year than any other class of women. The reason is obvious. 
No other class of women lead equally monotonous lives. Remember, 
change is Nature's law. It is of vital importance, and especially to 
women, and a loving husband who realizes this truth will seldom let 
a week pass without planning for his wife some little outside treat, 
or evening diversion if she is too absorbed in household cares to think 
of them herself. In fact, it is his thought for her pleasure that will 
render it infinitely the sweeter and more health-increasing. He will 
be amply repaid, even from a selfish point of view. 

ADVICE OF AN ITAUAN SPECIALIST. 

Paolo Mantegazza, a life member of the Italian senate, is called 
the world's greatest authority on love and marriage. For fifty years 
he has studied the subject, and is author of a score of books which 



WHAT MAERIAGE INVOLVES. 259 

resulted in his appointment to the senate by King Victor Emmanuel. 
In a letter of advice which he wrote for his youngest daughter upon 
her marriage, are some interesting and excellent ideas, well worthy 
of my readers' attention. I give a liberal selection: 

"BLAME SELDOM UNDIVIDED." 

"It is seldom that, in an unhappy marriage, the blame is .entirely 
upon the husband or entirely upon the wife. In the majority of cases 
the fault lies with both. In some cases it is so evenly divided that 
each is able to look the other in the face, and say: 'It's your fault.' 
Commence then, my daughter, by bringing to this great partnership of 
happiness all the capital which you ought to contribute to it. You 
should consider your husband as a part of yourself and care for him 
as carefully as you do for your own face or hands. You care for your 
person according to established rules of hygiene. You ought to care 
for the other half of yourself, which is your husband, according to the 
rules of a wise domestic diplomacy. 

"Don't be shocked at the apparent brutality of these words. Al- 
though in the world of politics diplomacy means the art of being 
mutually deceived, in marital matters this term signifies merely the 
science of handling the other half of one's self with courteous gentle- 
ness, with unfailing love, and with a deep knowledge of the human 
heart. It is inspired by one of the truest sayings of the New Testa- 
ment: 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' To a young wife 
I would say: 'Thou shalt love thy husband better than thyself.' 
Unless you have married a man unworthy of the name, an icy-hearted 
egoist or a self-indulgent brute, he will love you more and more in 
proportion as your love for him increases. Dante says that Cupid 
decrees that no one shall be loved who does not love in return, and 
this is almost an inspired saying, because it applies to all the affairs 
of the heart. And no matter how great changes there shall be in the 
laws and customs of mankind, love will surely beget love as long as 
the world turns round. 



26D WHAT MAREIAGE INVOLVES. 

"AVOID PERPETUAL CONTRADICTION." 

"In all conflicts of tastes or ideas in the government of the house- 
hold, yon should always yield to yonr husband in the matters of detail, 
in order to be able to insist sometimes when an important subject is 
under discussion. Perpetual contradiction, even if it is generally 
reasonable and right, is a rust which corrodes love and eventually 
destroys it. If you wish to have your way in questions which concern 
your own dignity or the education of your children, you should prac- 
tice self -repression and subordinate your own desires in unimportant 
matters like the cooking or your relations with indifferent acquaint- 
ances. Whenever you have a wish— and you have the right to have 
them just as much as your husband— try to support it by some good 
reason and not by a mere quibble or caprice. And whenever you 
express a wish, try to put it in the most interrogatory and conditional 
terms, such as: ' Don't you think it might be a good thing V or 
' Wouldn't it seem wise, to you!' That's diplomacy and wisdom; it 
may look like cheap politics, but it's also virtue. In the most difficult 
domestic crises, when you want to convince your husband that he 
ought to do something which he doesn't want to do, but which is 
nevertheless right, you should craftily soften your words and present 
your case in such a manner as to make him think that he himself is 
really eager to do the thing you are suggesting. 

"I know one husband who is always boasting that he has a wife 
who agrees with him in everything and contradicts him in nothing, 
not even in the most insignificant matters. Of course it is really the 
wife who has her own way in everything and imposes her own will 
upon him, and, luckily for all concerned, she seems only to wish for 
good and reasonable things. But she has erased from her vocabulary 
the verbs 'I want' and 'I command'; they seemed to her useless and 
dangerous words. In reality the women who have these two verbs 
always upon their tongues never succeed in ordering or commanding 
anybody, and have to resign themselves to a real matrimonial servi- 
tude which is most humiliating. The male animal is a ferocious wild 



WHAT MABBIAGE INVOLVES. 263 

beast that may easily be tamed by caresses and soft words. But he 
rebels and shows his teeth against those who scold or abuse him; like 
the lion, he can be more easily influenced by sweetmeats than by 
blows. 

"PROBLEM OF THE MOTHER-IN-LAW." 

' ' I know that you adore your mother, my daughter, and she is cer- 
tainly a saint who lives only for her husband and her children; but 
when you take a husband you must see to it that you have a separate 
home with him. I hope that you may be able to build your new nest 
near the one in which you were born, but whatever you do, don't live in 
the same house with your parents-in-law, and don't install yourself in 
your mother 's home. Your fiance at this time, when his whole heart is 
filled with the sweetest and most unselfish affection, will be sure to 
propose that you spare yourself the pain of being separated from your 
relatives. Be sure to refuse this offer, the acceptance of which he 
would be the first to regret. It is not without some excuse that proverb- 
makers, comic writers and playwrights have always chosen as the butts 
for their satire and ridicule the father-in-law and the mother-in-law. 
These jests are the kernels of the nuts of experience. And when one 
measures them by the probabilities of life, they become more true. The 
motives for discord are too numerous, the jealousies of contrast, the 
clashes of influence, the hatreds between son-in-law and mother-in-law 
are too frequent to permit peace to remain in such a divided house- 
hold. Never put your husband to the sad necessity of offending your 
mother and thus offending yourself. Love the old people from a dis- 
tance instead of hating them because of too close association. Be 
gracious, my daughter, in all your dealings with your relatives-in-law, 
and take care not to shock their incipient affection for you by some 
overgreat display of feeling for them. It is better to hold some store of 
tenderness in reserve. 

"TRUTH IS THE BEST POLICY." 

' i And now, my daughter, you must not get angry at the next thing 

I Have to say to you. Never tell your husband the least, smallest 
15 v. 



264 WHAT MARRIAGE INVOLVES. 

suspicion of a falsehood. I know that yon are honest and incapable 
of a lie, but your marriage will so complicate your relations with 
people and things that some fine day you are likely to find yourself 
facing this dilemma: either to tell an untruth or to cause pain to the 
man you love. Most women in this alternative, I should say about 
eighty per cent of them, would choose the lie as the best way out. 
And they will often tell it in the most unimportant crises, to escape 
being criticised, or being compelled to justify their actions, or even 
to avoid any long and tiresome explanations. Alexander cut the 
G-ordian knot with a blow of his sword, and this solution of a problem 
has been famous in history ever since. Women every day cut the knots 
which form between their hands in the tangled threads of life by 
means of that little sword which they always carry with them and 
which is called a lie. 

" Never tell an untruth to your husband! Whatever may be the 
dilemma which confronts you, whatever may be the knot which forms 
itself in your hand, never cut it by means of a lie. You will thus 
preserve your own self-respect, and your husband will place you upon 
an altar-like pedestal. A man may be proud of having a young and 
beautiful wife, of hearing her praised by all for her culture and wit, 
but nothing will flatter him more than to be able to say: 'My wife 
does not know how to say what isn't so.' In this hypocritical age in 
which we live, where lying envelops us from head to foot, and leaves 
its slimy trail everywhere like a snail, to know one spot where false- 
hood has not penetrated and whither it is possible to flee as to a sacred 
refuge is such an uplifting and noble joy that it makes every function 
of life seem brighter. There should be for every man in this desert of 
deceit one oasis where the grass is always green, where the foliage 
conceals no vipers, where the rosebushes are without thorns, where the 
bees have no sting, where the skies are always cloudless; and that 
oasis should be the soul of his wife. Thither we should be able to flee, 
confident and serene, to hear a 'yes' that always means 'yes' and a 
'no' which is always 'no.' 



WHAT MARRIAGE INVOLVES. 265 

1 'ONE LIE BEEEDS DISTRUST." 

"If women only appreciated the value of truthfulness and sin- 
cerity, they would unquestionably abandon even the whitest of white 
fibbing. Women lie often and lie well, but no art has been invented 
which will prevent them from making an occasional mistake. Now, 
one lie discovered will make you lose the fruits of a thousand more 
successful falsehoods. From the day of discovery all serenity will 
become useless, every affirmation will leave some doubt; after each 
'yes' or each 'no' your husband will put a question mark. You have 
lost your sanctity, you have profaned the temple in which he has 
placed you. You bring to your husband a veritable crown of flowers, 
your youth, your beauty, your accomplishments, and, sad to say, all 
these flowers must fade. But if among these blossoms you have inter- 
twined absolute sincerity, it will remain fresh and unwithered till the 
last breath of life, and your husband will be able to hold his head high 
in the presence of every one each time that he cries, 'She has said it,' 
meaning that its truth is therefore indisputable. Believe me that his 
eyes will moisten with tenderness when he adds by way of confirmation 
of this statement: 'My wife has never told me a falsehood.' 

"Your husband will swear eternal love and you will swear eternal 
love. Eternity belongs only to God, but it is constantly upon the lips 
of lovers. I am willing to agree that your love will die only with 
yourself, and that your husband's affection will end only with his life. 
But, for there is a but, how about the growth part of it? Will your 
mutual passion keep on expanding, as you think, or will it have inter- 
ruptions and seasons when it does not advance? Gautier has said 
that, 'In love, as in poetry, to stand still is to go backwards,' and 
although this saying is not entirely true, there is in it a great deal of 
truth. You should see to it, therefore, that from time to time, your 
husband for one reason or another, either because of his health or his 
business, should go away and leave you alone. Don 't follow him about 
everywhere at all times, and don't make a boast of having never passed 
a day without him. I believe that you will suffer because of his ab- 



266 WHAT MAREIAGE INVOLVES. 

sence, and that lie himself will share your pain, bnt this will be two 
sorrows which will pave the way for one great joy. After a long fast 
all food tastes delicious, after a protracted thirst any drink is exquisite. 
It is necessary that you should occasionally deprive your husband of 
yourself in order that he may the better appreciate you. 

"This is the means of maintaining love at the required point of 
delicious tension. I, who adore your mother and shall adore her until 
I die, have made a habit since the first year of our marriage of going 
away from her now and then for a trip of a week or ten days, and 
up to the present day I have carefully kept up the custom. After each 
absence I find a new honeymoon, and even to-day I believe that our 
happiness is still in the period of growth. 

"BEST WAY TO PRESERVE LOVE." 

"I remember once being present at a conversation between a num- 
ber of witty people. There were pretty women and some wise old 
men in the circle and the talk turned upon the best methods of keeping 
love from fading away. A professor of psychology raised an uproar 
by advancing the theory that love could be preserved much as the 
botanists of Germany and Norway preserve flowers in all their orig- 
inal freshness. Jealousy, mutual trust, and other matrimonial attri- 
butes were suggested as the best preservatives, when an old man who 
had not said a word, and who had contented himself with listening to 
this discussion with a Voltaire-like smile, an old man who was not a 
professor of psychology, but who had long studied both men and women 
with great and wise charity, said: 

" 'Will you permit me to give my opinion in this matter! If I am 
not mistaken I have lived longer than any one of you, and I have 
seen more men and women than any of you. In my judgment the best 
preservative for love, beautiful ladies and honored gentlemen, is— 
is-' 

"'Is what?' 
" 'Is purity.' 



WHAT MAEKIAGE INVOLVES. 267 

"All his hearers were silent, some with surprise, some because they 
did not understand. 

"But nevertheless, my daughter, that old gentleman was right, and 
I think the older you grow and the longer you live the more inclined 
you will be to agree with hhn." 

THE SECRET OF DELIGHT. 

In his concluding words, Dr. Mantegazza has struck the key-note. 
Purity is the best of all preservatives of love. And the way to keep 
the life pure and the love strong is to keep the spiritual, not the 
physical, uppermost in the thoughts. Eemember, sex is of the mind 
and soul. Its animal aspect is only its shadow, not its substance. 
There is a way which will be plainly shown, of so controlling the pas- 
sions as to purify the affections and increase life's delights, even on 
the physical plane; while the results of such a union are those price- 
less blessings— perfect, abounding health, superior offspring, and a 
harmony of life to which nothing can be compared. 

Alas! that such companionship should be so rare! That married 
life is too often a spoiled— patched— or harmful state and condition, 
instead of an evidence of a happy union. That love so seldom mates 
with comprehension of itself, of its infinite possibilities, desires and 
exactions. That even genius of high order has left records of miserable 
husbands— and misunderstood wives. And this because tact and 
sympathy and comprehension have been lacking in either nature; for 
apart even from love and devotion these qualities are of inestimable 
value. If they were joined to the love or devotion, the married state 
would become something at once unspoilable and unspoilt! 

If these words come before one who is conscious of having made a 
sad mistake in choosing, let them not cast you down completely. If 
there be a living love on both sides, there may yet be great peace and 
happiness for you. If you will turn to the chapter on "The Gift of 
Motherhood, " and observe how parents are instructed and helped to 
modify even their strongest characteristics for the sake of their mutual 



268 WHAT MARRIAGE INVOLVES. 

love for the coming one, you will, I am sure, be prompted to do the 
like for your sacred, tender love for each other. And in so doing, 
the one right step helps the other ; so that in seeking the new harmony 
for love's sake, the foundation will be laid for fulfilling the supreme 
trust, the greatest of all duties and privileges involved in the marriage 
relation— that of parenthood. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE EEPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 

A Reverent Study of Life — Unfolding Principles — The Double Arch of Destiny-— Great 
Strength of Pelvic Framework — Wise Precaution for Girls — Woman's Organs Internal 
— The Mons Veneris — Labia Majora and Minora — Clitoris — Vagina — Hymen — The 
Uterus — The Point of Physical and Nervous Energy — Strong Supporting Ligaments — 
The Waving Cilia — Wonders of the Fallopian Tubes — The Ovaries, the Basis of Femi- 
ninity — The Life-Germ — The Ripened Ovum Set Free — Glands of Nourishment — Home 
of the Male Life-Germs — Four Hundred Lobules — Lace-Work of the Seminal Tubes — 
Life and Force From the Blood — A Twenty-Foot Tube — A Duct Which Distributes 
Vigor to the Whole Body — Cylinders Which Transmit the New Life — Circumcision — 
The Freshest and Best Blood — The Sources of Strength and Virility — All Under Abso- 
lute Control of the Will — Man Not at the Mercy of His Passions — Remedy Where 
Passions Exceed Will — A Splendidly Developed and Preserved Virility. 

WONDEBFUL indeed in structure are those portions of the 
human body designed to reproduce life. The tree, the rose, 
are full of marvelous beauty as we examine their life-unfolding prin- 
ciples; how much more, then, the mysteries of that life which is the 
material expression of a human soul. Eeverently keeping this thought 
in mind, knowing the so^ul to be of divine origin and its outward form 
a fitting temple, to be welcomed, guarded and cared for as a trust from 
the Most High, we will proceed to a study of the truths teaching us 
how we can best fulfil that trust. 

THE PELVIS. 

In the formation of this bony framework lies the destiny of the 
human race; for it is the arched case in which rest the organs of 
generation. Formed by the broad bones of the hips, and connecting 
the lower limbs with the trunk of the body, it constitutes a basin-like 
structure built on the principle of the double arch. In architecture 
this structure possesses the greatest possible firmness in proportion 
to the material used ; hence the pelvis peculiarly combines the qualities 

269 



270 



THE EEPRODUCTIVE OEGANS, 




FEMALE PELVIS. 

The Brim, or Upper Portion. 
Lighter lines show the projection of adjoining processes. 



of strength and 
lightness. For 
convenience in 
explaining, phy- 
siologists usual- 
ly treat the up- 
per and lower 
portions separ- 
ately, as the 
' ' Brim, "or 
"False,'-' and 
"Outlet," or 
"True," pelvis. 
Its brim is some- 
what oval ; the 
breadth of the 



bones at the posterior affording support for the weight that must rest 
upon them, and the lower portions supporting the body when it is in a 
sitting posture. The pelvic cavity is deep behind, but grows gradually 
shallower in front. The walls of the pelvis are composed of three 
large, irregular- 
ly shaped bones, 
joined at the 
base by a wedge- 
shaped piece 
known as the os 
sacrum. Upon 
this latter rests 
the spinal col- 
umn. As child-bearing 
produces a much greater 
strain upon the floor of female pelvis. 

the female pelvis than is The Outlet or Lower Portion* 




THE KEPBODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



271 




DEFORMED PELVIS. 

Might allow of delivery with great exertion. 



exerted upon that of 
the male, the female 
os sacrum is flatter 
and broader than 
that of man. The 
large bones of the 
female pelvis are 
also far more con- 
vex than those of 
the male. The male 
pelvis is deep in 
proportion to its 
width; the female pelvis, the reverse, and is more capacious than that 
of man. In the female pelvis its outlet is also more regularly oval, so 
that there may be less difficulty in the passage of the babe into the 
outer world. The position of the pelvis in regard to the trunk of the 
body is oblique, thus affording a better support to the viscera and the 
uterus during the last stages of pregnancy. Were it not so, the uterus, 
during pregnancy, would gravitate low into the pelvis and press in- 
juriously on the viscera, 
while in the early stages 
it might even protrude 
externally. The fact that 
the pelvic bones of the fe- 
male are more loosely set 
than those of the male 
suggests another wise 
provision of nature. 
They do not separate in 
childbirth, as was once 
thought, but they are 
deformed pelvis. slow of growth, and in 

A rare formation, resulting from disease. the Case of the girl are 




272 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 




DEFORMED PELVIS. 

Delivery possible only by abdominal incision. 



not completely ossified until near her twen- 
tieth year. The grave danger therefore is 
that if she is inclined to inactivity, or if her 
occupation or educa- 
tion forces her to sit 
too much on hard 
surfaces, the unde- 
veloped and unossi- 
fied pelvic bones will 
be forced out of place 
and so distorted as to 
incapacitate her for 
life to properly per- 
form the functions 
for which the normal 

pelvis is so admirably adapted. Parents of girls especially should 

therefore see to it that if it is necessary for their daughters to be 

employed in sedentary ways they 

should have comfortable seats and 

be forced to take a reasonable 

amount of active exercise, in order 

that a continuous 

strain upon the pelvic 

bones in one direction 

may not disturb its 

normal shape. 

FEMALE ORGANS OF 
GENERATION. 

While in man the prin- 
cipal reproductive organs are 
external, in woman they are 
internal ; again illustrating deformed pelvis. 

Nature's plan of the one sex Instrumental delivery possible. 




THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



273 



completing the other. The organs 
of woman thus protected within 
the body are the vagina, the uter- 
us, the Fallopian tubes and the 
ovaries. Accessory to these are the 
mons veneris, the labia majora, la- 
bia minora, clitoris and hymen. The 
mammary glands are also 
related to the organs of 
generation. Beginning 
with the external, in front 
is the mons veneris, a fat- 
ty cushion which at pu- 
berty becomes covered 
with hair. Extending back 
from this on each side are 
two lips or folds of skin, 
inclosing the urinal and 
vaginal orifices. The outer 
folds, partially covered 
with hair, are called the 
labia major a, or large 
lips. They extend from 
the mons veneris to the 
perineum, that part lying 
between the rectum and 
the vagina. The inner 
folds, called the labia mi- 
nora, or small lips, are 
similar in construction to the outer ones, but are covered with a 
pink mucous membrane. They are sometimes elongated, particularly 
in women who have borne many children ; while in the virgin the labia 
majora are more prominent. 




LATERAL SECTION OF THE FEMALE PELVIS, 
WITH ITS CONTENTS. 



274 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



THE CLITORIS. 



At the arch formed by the union of the labia minora in front, is 
a small fold of membrane, sponge-like in substance, and plentifully 
supplied with nerves. This is called the clitoris, and in many respects 
its structure resembles the male organ of copulation. The clitoris is 




INTERNAL ORGANS OF GENERATION IN THE FEMALE. 

Showing the vagina, the mouth of the womb, the neck of the womb and its body, 
the broad ligaments, the round ligaments and the Fallopian tubes. 

usually about one-fourth of an inch long, but sometimes becomes 
greatly enlarged so as to be an inch or more in length. It is the seat 
of special sensation, and becomes enlarged and hardened when the 
passions are excited. In the disease Nymphomania, this organ is asso- 
ciated with the labia minora, and both become so abnormally sensitive 
that the slightest friction, even the contact of the clothing, or the leasi 



THE REPKODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



275 



sexual suggestion, is enough to excite the passion which can either 
uplift or ruin, according to whether it is or is not controlled by the 
mind. When this undue desire for intercourse exists, a reputable 
physician should be consulted, as its effects are most serious on health 
and morals alike. While immorality may not at first exist, a yielding 
to such abnormal desires would cause it. By the practice of unnatural 
vice the clitoris sometimes becomes enlarged to the length of several 
inches. Especially is this true in the gratification of sexual instinct 





Left hand: Cavity of adult 
uterus. Fallopian tubes enter 
diagonally crosswise at the up- 
per corner-like extremities. 

Center: Infantile uterus laid 
open. Whole inner membrane 
corrugated. 

Eight hand: Lateral section 
of unimpregnated uterus. 




between depraved women, which practice, said to have been common 
in the isle of Lesbos, is from this called "Lesbian Love." 

About an inch back from the clitoris is the urethra, or passage from 
the bladder for the discharge of urine ; and immediately back of this is 
the vulva, or opening to the vagina, which is the entrance to the internal 
generative organs. 

THE VAGINA. 

This is a narrow canal, from three to ^.Ye inches in length, leading 
to the womb. It is narrowest at the middle, widening towards the 



276 THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 

ends ; and passes upward and backward in a curved direction, the curve 
rendering it longer on the posterior than on the anterior side. It has 
thick, elastic walls, capable of dilating and contracting to a consider- 
able extent. It is lined with a mucous membrane, arranged in many 
folds, or wrinkles, which grow fewer and gradually almost disappear 
after copulation and child-bearing. The offices of the vagina are to 
receive the intromittent male organ, and convey the semen to the 
uterus; also to afford a passage for the menstrual flow, and transmit 
the infant and placenta in labor. A circular or constrictive muscle 
tends to draw the walls of the vagina together, making it more firm, 
and enabling it to assist in the support of the uterus. 

THE HYMEN. 

A thin, somewhat crescent-shaped membrane near the external 
opening of the vagina, closing the canal more or less completely, is 
called the hymen. Its form is supposed to explain the origin of the 
symbol of the crescent, assigned by the ancients to Diana, the goddess 
of chastity; from the fact that the membrane is usually ruptured dur- 
ing the first sexual congress. The presence or absence of this mem- 
brane is not now, however, as formerly, regarded as an unfailing sign 
of virginity or its reverse, as it may be destroyed by accident or 
disease, may be entirely lacking from birth, or again, it is sometimes 
so firm as not to yield at the first or subsequent connections, and occa- 
sionally grows again in widows, or in wives long absent from their 
husbands. Normally, the hymen has a small aperture in the center, 
but sometimes this perforation is lacking, and the result is that the 
vaginal canal is entirely closed, causing great suffering at the time 
of the first menstrual period. When this is the case a perforation 
must be made before relief is obtained. 

THE UTERUS. 

In its virgin state, the uterus, or womb, under the influence of 
the ovaries, constitutes the pivot around which play all the physical 
and nervous energies of the female organism, and its functional per* 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



277 



fection exercises a powerfully controlling influence upon the physical 
health and social and moral happiness. 

The generative organs constitute the grand center of female econ- 
omy. All the organisms and functions of the woman are more or less 
in sympathy with these, 
and from the full, healthy 
and harmonious develop- 
ment of the sexual system 
come the ruddy cheek, the 
elastic step, the buoyant, 
womanly spirit, and that 
constancy and affection 
which so pre-eminently 
characterize, beautify and 
ennoble the female sex. 
Formerly the uterus was 
thought to be the most im- 
portant of the reproduc- 
tive organs, but it is now 
known to be but the later 
receptacle for the egg, or 
ovum, which is first pro- 
duced in the ovaries and 
conveyed by the Fallopian 
tubes into the uterus, 
where, if conception takes 
place, it remains and de- 
velops into a new being; 
otherwise, after a short stay, it passes off. The uterus is be- 
tween the bladder and the rectum, above and continuous with 
the vagina, and is supported partly by eight strong ligaments, 
and partly by the tension of the vaginal muscles beneath it, 
which serve as pillars. In form, the uterus is much like a flattened 




ARTERIES OF THE UTERUS. 

The uterus is about the relative size found six days 
after labor. It is represented turned forward, exhibit- 
ing its posterior face. 

Besides the principal arteries the cut shows the kid- 
neys, the aorta, the ovaries and the Fallopian tubes. 



278 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



pear, with the broad part upward. It is from two and a half to three 
inches in length ; nearly two in breadth at the top, and an inch or less 
at the cervix or neck, which is the lower part. In thickness, also, it is 

about one inch. Its 
internal cavity is 
very small compared 
with the size of the 
organ; this is owing 
to the extreme thick- 
ness of its muscular 
walls, so built as to 
accommodate the 
growing size of the 
fetus. This cavity in 
the upper part, or 
body of the womb, is 
triangular, with the 
Fallopian tubes 
opening from its up- 
per angles. In the 
lower part, or neck 
of the womb, the cav- 
ity becomes more 
long than broad, 
swelling somewhat at 
the middle, and ter- 
minating by what is 
called the os uteri, 
or mouth of the 
womb, opening into the vagina. The two principal ligaments holding 
the womb in place are of round, muscular fibrous tissue, arranged in 
bundles about five inches long, attached to the pubic or front bone. 
Two other ligaments are broa.i sheets of strong membrane passing 




NEEVES OF THE UTEEUS. 

a, spermatic vein; b, spermatic artery; d, aorta; e, e, 
nerves; f, g, fourth and fifth lumbar ganglia; h, i, k, first, 
second and third sacral; m, m, _i, the lumbar and sacral 
nerves cut which are to form the great sciatic; n, branch. 

A plexus of nervous filaments is seen where e, e join, 
called the superior hypogastric, or common uterine plexus. 

The inferior hypogastric is an extensive plexus visible at 
the side of the vagina rather above the center. This sup- 
plies the upper part of the vagina and the lower portion of 
the uterus. 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 281 

from the top of the womb to the sides of the pelvis. Of the other four, 
two ligaments connect the womb with the bladder in front, and two 
with the rectum behind. 

At birth and throughout childhood the neck of the womb is larger 
than the body, the proportions being reversed with the advent of 
puberty, and attaining those of maturity, in temperate regions, at 
about the twentieth year. The fetal uterus is in the abdomen; the 
mature virgin womb has descended to the pelvis. 

These changes in form and in position are in evident preparation 
to perfect that organ for the development of the human organism 
before birth into the outer world. The substance of the uterus is 
muscular, and in its contractions is capable of exerting great force. 
The expansion which it undergoes during gestation, and its subsequent 
contraction to its original size are most extraordinary. 

In the smooth lining membrane of the body of the womb are tiny 
canals, which secrete nourishment for the embryo in its various, stages 
of growth. As this lining membrane enters the neck of the womb, and 
also as it enters the Fallopian tubes, there appear on its surface minute 
fiber-like projections, called cilia. These are always in motion, like 
a field of grain in the wind; and their motion assists in the various 
processes of conception and generation. 

THE FALLOPIAN TUBES. 

These are two fine, cone-shaped tubes, whose chief function is to 

convey the ripened ovum, or egg y to the womb. The tubes are four or 

live inches in length, and extend from the body of the uterus to the 

brim of the~pelvis. They are so narrow that at their juncture with 

the uterus they will scarcely admit a fine bristle; but about midway 

they begin to widen out until they form a trumpet-shaped extremity 

with fringed edges, large enough to admit an ordinary quill. The 

fringes, or fimbriae, perform a most wonderful part in the reproductive 

process. When the ripened egg is ready to burst from the ovary, the 

finger-like fringes reach over and grasp it, drawing it into the opening 
le v. 



282 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



of the tube, where the inward motion of the cilia, together with mus- 
cular contractions, draw it into the cavity of the womb. 



THE OVARIES. 



These are the most important and wonderful of all the female 
generative organs. They are at the foundation, physically speaking, 
of all that makes a woman feminine. Their function is to produce the 




VIEW OF THE FLOOR OF THE FEMALE PELVIS— REGARDING IT 
FROM THE ABDOMEN. 

human egg; and so vitally does their presence affect a woman's nature. 
that if they are removed, menstruation ceases, the appearance becomes 
masculine, the voice coarse; a beard sometimes appears on the face, 
and the whole being in transformed. No longer a woman, the vital 
essence of all that was feminine destroyed, the person becomes a mere 
automaton, without animation, sparkle, magnetism or individual charm. 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 283 

Yet all this power is centered in two almond-shaped bodies scarcely 
an inch and a half in length, and from a half inch to three-quarters 
of an inch in thickness. They are placed on each side of the uterus, 
about two and one-half inches apart ; are enveloped in the broad liga- 
ments of the uterus, and are attached to the sides of that organ by 
ligaments of their own. Each ovary is also attached at its outer 
extremity to one of the fimbriae of the Fallopian tubes. Their color 
is pale red, and their outer substance is a dense, fibrous material, 
inclosing a soft, fibrous tissue composed of numerous tiny transparent 
cells called the Graafian vesicles, after De Graaf, their discoverer. 
Each of these vesicles is filled with a whitish fluid in which is formed 
a single ovum, or egg. 

THE HUMAN EGG. 

About the size of the point of a pin, or so exceedingly minute that 
it requires from one hundred and twenty to two hundred and forty to 
fill an inch of space, the human egg consists of a transparent coat 
within which is the white and yolk as in the eggs of fowls; while 
imbedded in the yolk is the life-germ, only one three thousand six 
hundredth of an inch in diameter, which contains all the embryonic 
traits of the mother herself. Could any study be more beautiful and 
wonderful than that of the development, in its successive marvelous 
changes, of this complex life? If it be true that "the undevout 
astronomer is mad," surely this can be said with even more emphasis 
of one who could study these reproductive agencies without emotions 
of awe at the Infinite intelligence revealed. 

HOW THE EGG IS LIBERATED. 

Very curious is this process. Twenty or thirty of the Graafian 
vesicles are all that the ovary appears to contain at any one time, but 
there are probably many others in different stages of development. 
They ripen or develop, one after the other, beginning at the time of 
puberty and continuing until tne change of life, when all have been 
developed. One egg ripens, normally, in each twenty-eight days. As 



284 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 






the vesicle matures, it approaches the surface of the ovary, and finally 
oursts through it, like a plant emerging, from the ground. 

The vesicle itself also bursts open as does the membrane of the 
ovary; and the ripened ovum, or egg, is set free. This escape of the 
ovum occurs at the menstrual period. It requires from two to five 
days for the ovum to pass through the Fallopian tubes and reach the 
womb; it never reaches there until the flow has ceased, and after re- 
maining there from two to eight days, if no intercourse is had with 

the male, the egg then passes 
from the womb into the vagina 
and is expelled from the sys- 
tem. In case of intercourse 
occurring while the ovum is in 
the womb, the male element 
unites with the 
germ of the 
ovum, impreg- 
nation takes 
place, and life is 
begun. 

MAMMARY 

GLANDS. 

Closely relat- 
ing with the 
generative or- 
gans are these 
glands intended 
for the secretion 
of milk to nour- 
ish the infant after birth. They have been previously referred to in 
describing the breasts, but I will here mention a few further details as 
to their construction. 

At the time of delivery, the milk is secreted in follicles, grouped 




SECTION OF FEMALE PELVIS SHOWING POSITION OF THE 

VISCERA. 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 285 

closely and opening into ducts, which meet and merge into larger and 
larger ones as they approach the surface, finally terminating in the 
nipples. To permit the milk to be drawn out by the infant in the 
process of nursing, the nipples are perforated with numerous open- 
ings; and to protect them from pain in the act of sucking, fat is lib- 
erally secreted by glands at their base. Fatty tissue is thus produced 
which forms the size and shape of the breasts. 

The breasts become considerably enlarged at puberty, and more 
so during pregnancy and after delivery. One of the signs of preg« 
nancy is the change of color in the areola, which surrounds the nipple 
In the virgin this is a delicate rosy pink, but in pregnancy it turns td 
a dark brown. 

Abundant blood-vessels and nerves are supplied to the mammary 
glands, connecting them closely with the generative organs, which are 
similarly supplied. These tend to keep the entire sexual system in 
health by building up the waste tissues and by warning in case of 
disease. 

MALE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 

As these serve only for copulation and fecundation, they are more 
external than those of the female, with whom the developing and nour- 
ishing processes must form a part. In the male, the organs consist of 
the testicles with their tubes, and the penis with its glands. 

THE TESTICLES. 

Corresponding to the ovaries in the female, the most important of 
the male sexual organs are the testicles, or testes. They produce the 
life-germs, or spermatozoa; and they are the centers of that mascu- 
line vigor which gives to its possessor manliness of form, bearing, 
voice, intellect and moral nature. 

The testicles are two glandular, bean-shaped bodies a little more 
than an inch long, nearly an inch wide, and about half an inch thick, 
suspended side by side by what are called the spermatic cords ; having 
six distinct coverings, including as the outer ones the dartos muscle 



285 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



and the skin, forming the scrotum. In youth and health, the scrotum is 
short, wrinkled and adheres closely to the testes; in the old and in 
those who have abused themselves mentally, physically and sexually, 
it is flabby and elongated. A wall beginning at the root of the penis 
divides the testes. 

Cells, blood-vessels and ducts for the secretions are gathered into 
separate bundles called lobules, some four hundred of these lobules 
being contained in each testicle. 
Around these lobules are coiled Globus 



SperiitalQ 



%aileaVatfbnL/is K 




Tunica vaginalis 
Cornea albuginea. 



Jts septa, 




Vasa recta 
Right testis 



Spermatic 
artery. 



Fas 
deferens. 



Vasa 
effereniia. 



Mediastinal. 

Body of ' 
epididymis. 

Vas 

uberrans. 



Globus ffiu*.i 



TESTIS AND EPIDIDYMUS. 



STRUCTURE OF THE TESTES AND DUCTS. 



the seminal tubes, each finer than a hair, but lined with a network of 
capillaries, absorbents and nerves which under the microscope look 
like beautiful lace. Innumerable cells full of life and force here draw 
from the blood the nourishment needed for their work of secretion. 
The seminal tubes themselves, carrying the secretion, become straight 
before leaving the lobules, and are called the vasa recta. Next they 
meet, and passing upwards weave themselves into a network called 
the rete testis. This, at the top and rear, forms into some twenty or 
thirty larger ducts called vasa efferentia, which empty into and form 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 287 

the epididymus, a convoluted tube twenty feet long or more, but 
bunched closely together and held in place by areolar tissue. At the 
lower end of the testicle, the epididymus, collecting all the semen, 
opens into the vas deferens, or great duct, which carries the fluid 
upward through the inguinal ring into the abdomen and pelvis. This 
great duct distributes the seminal fluid throughout the circulation, 
re-vitalizing the blood, or, being rendered contractile by muscles run- 
ning around it, by the exercise of these muscles projects the fluid, 
freighted with its life-germ contents, around and behind the bladder 
and empties it into the reservoir there. At the base of the bladder the 
vas deferens and seminal duct unite, forming the ejaculatory duct. 

THE PROSTATE GLAND, 

surrounding the neck of the bladder, in the lowest part of the body, is 
composed mainly of glands and in size and shape resembles a horse- 
chestnut. Within this gland the ejaculatory duct opens into the 
urethra through which the seminal fluid is discharged, when not re- 
absorbed. 

THE PENIS. 

This is the organ of copulation and urination. In structure it 
consists of two cones or oblong cylinders, placed side by side, very 
full of blood-cells, and capable of being greatly distended throughout 
its entire length by the flow of blood induced by exciting causes. A 
groove above these cones is filled by a large vein; one below, by the 
urethra, with its spongy, erectile walls which expand at its head to 
form the glans penis covering the ends of the two cone-shaped bodies. 
The urethra is the passage through which the urine is emptied from 
the bladder, and through which the seminal fluid is passed at the time 
of coition. 

THE PREPUCE, OR FORESKIN. 

Covering the body of the penis is a loose skin, continuous at the 
root with that of the pubis; at the head of the organ, leaving the 
surface, the skin is folded back upon itself, forming the prepuce, or 



288 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



foreskin. The operation of circumcision, in practice among the He- 
brews, consisted in the removal of this foreskin ; a practice commended 
by many leading physicians at the present day as conducive to cleanli- 
ness and health. When care is not taken in bathing, to press back the 
foreskin, and give to the glans penis its full share of soap and water, 
the old secretions will induce tenderness and soreness of these parts, 
with resulting sympathetic disorders elsewhere throughout the system ; 

Bate of Bladder. 



Vas aejerens 
dissected. 
Ureter. 
Line of reflection 
of peritoneum. 
Vesic. seminales 
unravelled duct. 

Triangular space. 




Ureter. 
S Vas deferens. 



Vesiculcs teminatei 
dud. 



Right ejaculatory duct. 
Prostate gland. 



Urethras 
BASE OP BLADDER, VAS DEFERENS AND URETHRA. 



hence the operation is often found to relieve nervousness, epilepsy and 
similar diseases in both children and adults. 

All this wonderfully complex delicate sexual system with its abun- 
dant nerves and blood-vessels, is formed to produce and convey that 
subtle essence of the blood variously called semen, seminal fluid, seed, 
or sperm. The freshest and best blood from the heart is taken directly 
to the testicles to be there transformed into this vital fluid generating 
strength, virility, sturdiness and penetration in a man ; and the nerves 
of these portions are so connected with the brain as to leave no doubt 
that the sexual processes are under the control of the will. 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



289 



Do not misunderstand me. This is a physiological fact, and brings 
with it a message of truth and hope to those who have long been de- 
luded by the terribly false education of the ages. Let it be written 
in letters of living light that man is not at the mercy of his passions. 
The continent life is the strong, healthful, abundantly satisfying life, 
and it is within the power of every man to attain it in high measure, 
and in the attainment bring untold blessings on himself, on the woman 
whose happiness is so 
largely in his keep- 
ing, and on posterity. 
Think a moment and 
I will make it clear 
why this is true. Re- 
member that the vital 
fluid, aftei leaving 
the testicles, is either 
distributed by the 
vas deferens 
throughout the sys- 
tem, or dispelled in 
the sexual act. If the 
greater part is dis- 
pelled, through fre- 
quent coition, how- 
ever lawful, such ex- THE MUSCLES OF THE THIGHS. 
cess not only causes local inflammations and disease, but deprives the 
whole system of virility and health ; while the more semen is retained, 
the more vigor is enjoyed and the keener become life's pleasures in 
consequence. 

Now nature, if left free, invariably deals out her gifts fairly. She 
either endows men with strong wills when she gives them strong 
passions, or in every case where the will is weak, she makes the nature 
plastic and easily subject to mental impressions, right or wrong. 




290 THE REPEODUCTIVE ORGANS. 

The great remedy, then, for those who find their passions stronger 
than their wills, is to regulate the mental impressions. Sex always 
obeys the strongest mental suggestion, whether it be pure or impure. 
To those who would completely rule their animal instincts instead of 
being in a greater or less degree ruled by them, I would recommend 
above all things, healthful mental occupation, either in the line of 
work, study or recreation. Keep the thoughts busy with useful, inter- 
esting, uplifting topics ; observe strictly the laws of physical health, as 
to frequent bathing, clean, comfortable clothing, unstimulating diet, 
early rising, fresh air and exercise ; but above all, let the mental asso- 
ciations be pure and actively at work. The benefit is beyond compute. 
It will appear in the perfect form, the musical, manly ring of the 
toice, the energetic, graceful movements, the sparkling eyes, fine com- 
plexion, magnetic influence and whole bearing, proclaiming a splen- 
didly developed and preserved virility. Such a man alone is fit mate 
for the woman of true feminine charm and power. 

I would proclaim the above as my message of hope and joy not 
only for the one addicted to immoderate practices in wedded life, but 
also for the one who, by self-abuse, perverts these wonderful powers, 
for there is hope for all! 



CHAPTER XIX. 

SPECIAL WARNING TO THE BOY AND GIRL. 

Respect the Bodies God Has Given — Take Your Questions to "Mother" — Life's Origin 
and Its Beautiful Shelter — Why Children are Dearly Loved — The Reproductive Organs 
— Right Care of Them Makes Men Strong and Women Beautiful — Saving Them for 
Maturity's Joy and Blessing — Perverting Them Depletes Blood — Inflames Nerves — 
Promotes Stupidity and Destroys Healthy Play-Faculties — You Want to Be Strong — 
Keep Away from Impure Companions — Keep Thoughts High — Tell Father or Mother— 
They Love You and Can Help You — The Conquest — You Become a Prince — The Girl's 
Treasure, Her Growing Womanhood — She Must Keep Herself Pure — What Is at Stake: 
Beautiful Home-Life; Husband's Affection; Darling Children of Her Own — The Sexual 
Organs Are Sacred — Controlling the Thoughts— ^he "Card Plan" for Boys or Girls — 
The "Friendly Witch" — Men and Women of Purity and Power. 

EVERYTHING good and beautiful can be misused ; and great suf- 
fering is the result. It is so terrible and unfortunate when 
boys or girls have once formed the habit of misusing the bodies God 
has given them, and such a happy and fortunate thing when they are 
early led to respect and treat these bodies rightly, that I cannot let my 
book go before the public without containing a warning that not only 
the older people, but the children themselves can understand, when- 
ever this book shall meet their eyes. 

It is not wrong to want to know about the many curious and won- 
derful works of God; and the human body is the most wonderful of 
all. But, do you know, my boy, my girl, that no one can tell you quite 
so many interesting facts about it as mother can? A wise, kind mother 
is the best friend of all. Take your questions to her, in the very first 
place, no matter what they are; and I think she will either answer 
them herself, or place in your hands one of the many books written on 
purpose for such a time, that will tell you all about it. 

THE FIRST QUESTION. 

She may first tell you this beautiful truth, if you have not already 
learned it from her; that all life comes from a tiny seed; that before 

291 



292 SPECIAL WARNING TO THE BOY AND GIRL. 

you were born you were growing, just as the seed grows in the ground, 
or as the bird grows within the egg ; that God so planned for your com- 
ing that He placed a sheltered nest for you within your mother's body, 
and there, like a fledgling with folded wings, soft-brooded in her very 
bosom, lulled by her loving heart-beats, you slept and grew, till from a 
shapeless seed you had grown into a human form. For many weary 
months she carried you about like this, then with much pain brought 
you into the world as a tiny baby, more precious to her than all the 
world beside, because of the pain your coming cost her, and because 
you had been thus a part of herself. All human life comes from the 
father and mother; it is God's way of creating, and the most beautiful 
way that could be, because a child, having been a part of its parents ' 
bodies, is the more dearly loved. 

FOR THE OLDER ONES. 

If you are older and just beginning to wonder about the bodily or- 
gans which have been provided for this wonderful work of bringing 
human beings into the world, you will be likely to turn to the chapter 
just before this one. After you have read it, you will know that the 
right care of what are known as the reproductive, generative, or sexual 
organs is what makes men strong and women beautiful ; you will begin 
to understand that their wrong use causes dreadful deformities and 
sickness too loathsome to be described. These organs are provided by 
God in order that children may be born. If they are never misused, 
never handled in any way, except to keep them clean, until they are 
fully matured, they may be the source of great blessing to the world 
and to those who possess them. But many, very many boys, and even 
girls, of all ages, form the habit of handling their sexual organs before 
they know the harm it will do. Let me tell some of the results of this 
terrible practice, which is called self-abuse. 

WHY IT DOES HARM. 

A boy who thus handles himself cannot possibly grow up happy, 
healthy and strong. This is true for two reasons. The sexual organs 



SPECIAL WARNING TO THE BOY AND GIRL. 293 

have nerves running to all parts of the body. They have also a great 
many blood-vessels. Whenever these organs are handled, it draws too 
much blood to them, exciting and inflaming them, and leaving other 
parts of the body without enough blood to nourish them. The nerves, 
too, carry the inflamed condition from the sexual organs to other parts 
of the system. These nerves go so directly to the spine and the brain, 
that if you handle the sexual organs or even if you keep thinking about 
them, it excites and exhausts the nerves, making the back ache, the brain 
heavy and dull, and the whole body weak. It lays the foundation for 
consumption, paralysis and heart disease. It weakens the memory, and 
makes a boy careless, stupid and too lazy to study or even play with any 
keen enjoyment. It makes the form stooping, instead of erect ; it makes 
him narrow-chested and thin; causes the muscles to become flabby, so 
that he cannot excel in outdoor sports ; and even causes many to lose 
their minds, and others, when grown, to commit suicide. The results 
come so slowly that often the victim of self-abuse is very near death 
before he realizes that he has done himself any harm. 

A TRUE CONTRAST. 

My boy, would you be a strong man? Of course you would. What 
boy does not wish to be strong! Then never indulge in a practice so 
surely weakening as this one. Look at the picture here given of the 
healthy, robust, splendidly vigorous man who has never abused himself, 
and then look at that of the poor victim of this loathsome habit. Notice 
the stooping shoulders, the narrow chest, the exhausted look. Yet both 
represent men in their prime. 

If you have ever been taught this habit of self -abuse by companions, 
stop it now, and keep away from those books or men, as you value your 
life ! When tempted, take at once some interesting book, game, task, or 
sport, that will keep you from even thinking of this matter ; for a bad 
habit is not cured in a day, but perseverance will do it in every case. 
Your parents will help you if you confide in them. Make up your mind 
to be free, at all costs, rather than a slave to this miserable, ruinous 
practice. 



294 SPECIAL WARNING TO THE BOY AND GIRL. 

In thus conquering, you will have made great progress in life. 
Solomon says, "he that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh 
a city. ' ' You have conquered yourself ; you have ruled your thoughts ; 
yes, you have made yourself master. It is a great step onward in your 
life. It is the hardening of your " character-muscle. ' ' Henceforth 
you will respect your own powers; and, moreover, your mates will 
instinctively respect you and defer to you. Such a conquest puts all 
slavery impulses out of your life. You move as a prince, born to rule ! 
You have acquired the self-respect native to princely life. It will mean 
much to your whole future— and the best of all is that there is not a 
single one of my readers but can do it! 

Be careful to observe the laws of health in other respects, also; 
they have much to do with this matter. Rise early, or as soon as you 
are awake; take a cold sponge bath and dress quickly; exercise a lit- 
tle before breakfast, in the open air if possible. Eat plenty of fresh 
ripe fruit, but avoid meat and highly seasoned dishes. Attend to the 
moving of the bowels at a regular time each day. Take a warm tub 
bath with soap twice a week ; and breathe plenty of fresh air. Garden- 
ing, farm work and the outdoor sports are excellent to build up a 
strong, clean body, free from all bad habits; but remember that the 
mind must be kept healthy too, for a poisoned mind always means an 
unhealthy body as well. 

It pays to read books by the best authors, both modern and stand- 
ard. Fine stories of heroic lives have been written, and it will prove 
intensely interesting to any wide-awake, energetic boy to read how 
Lincoln and other great men won their places in the world's history. 
You will want some fiction, too, of course, but let it be the best. Some 
books will reach your hands that should not be read by anyone. You 
do not want those; say to yourself, proudly, instead, "The best is good 
enough for me, ' ' and then stick to it. Any book that you would not like 
to have your mother see, is not good enough for you, for it is of the 
kind most likely to inflame the passions and bring on the very troubles 
I am warning you against. The mind as well as the body is too often 



SPECIAL WARNING TO THE BOY AND GIRL. 295 

made the victim of self-abuse ; and when it starts in the mind the habit 
is more than likely to extend to the body also. 

HOW IT AFFECTS THE LOOKS. 

What I have said regarding the effect on the health of the boy is 
true also of the girl. How unspeakably sad to see a girl who has ig- 
norantly made shipwreck of that which should be her greatest treas- 
ure—her own growing womanhood ! Not only does self-abuse ruin the 
health and the mind ; but it so affects the appearance that, as a rule, all 
can tell what is the matter. The signs are unmistakable. There will 
be the bloodless lips, the dull, heavy eyes, surrounded with dark rings, 
the blanched cheek, the nerveless hand, the short breath, the old, faded 
look, the weakened memory, and silly irritability,— these tell the story 
all too plainly. 

CAN A GIRL AFFORD IT? 

A girl must keep herself pure, must be above yielding to the advice 
of ignorant servants or foolish schoolmates, if she would grow into a 
woman loved and trusted with the greatest and most desired of bless- 
ings—a beautiful home-life, a noble husband's affection, and darling 
children of her own. And it must be remembered that any disease of 
the sexual organs will take away that great privilege of happy mother- 
hood ; for if the mother is not healthy, the children, also, will be ailing, 
if indeed they can be born and live at all. 

Can any girl afford to lose her power to become a good wife and 
mother, just for the sake of yielding to a foolish temptation? 

THE SEXUAL ORGANS TO BE KEPT SACRED. 

Many have been taught that the sexual organs themselves are im- 
pure. This is not true. God made them, and they are the part of 
the body most sacred of all, for to them is given the honor and priv- 
ilege, under right conditions, after marriage, of creating life. But 
certain it is that they must be let alone until that time, except to keep 
them clean, if they are ever to fulfill this high mission in a way to bring 
happiness. Let them alone even with your thoughts. It is not wrong 



296 SPECIAL WABNING TO THE BOY AND GIRL. 

to know about tliem; but I have told you why it is a mistake to keep 
thinking about them. Let them alone, to grow strong and mature and 
beautiful in the way that God has planned, and by and by you will 
be very glad and thankful that you did so. 

HOW TO CONTROL THE THOUGHTS; THE CARD PLAN. 

"But how can I stop thinking about them!" some of you will feel 
like asking. I will tell you one very successful way: 

Take a blank card, and write on it the names of seven things, as 
follows; the three outdoor sports you like best; the three indoor occu- 
pations most interesting to you; and your favorite school study. All 
must be good things for you to do and think about. Whenever you 
are not busy, and your thoughts run away with you and persist in 
dwelling on unhealthy subjects, look at this card or remember it, and 
begin right away to do or to plan, hard, some one of those seven things. 
For instance, if you are a boy, suppose your list includes skating, the 
use of carpenter's tools P and geography. If it is summer, and you 
can't go skating, you can plan to build a boat or an Indian wigwam, or 
you can read some interesting book describing travels by Livingstone, 
Peary, or some other explorer, telling about real countries and people 
so curious that they will make you forget everything else. Or if you 
are a girl, perhaps your list includes tennis, private theatricals and 
history. When your thoughts wander to undesirable subjects, and 
you have no task to perform, either take your tennis racquet and go 
out for a splendid bit of practice or read a story of early colonial days 
and then invite a girl friend or two to help you plan an entertainment 
with historical tableaux, perhaps, the costumes improvised from attic 
treasures. 

Or it may be that you do not care for these particular things, but 
prefer gardening, music, drawing or something else. You can apply 
this card plan, no matter whether you are a girl or a boy, and what- 
ever your tastes may be. It works just as well at night, too, after you 
have memorized your seven subjects ; for you can go to sleep thinking of 



SPECIAL WAENING TO THE BOY AND GIRL. 299 

whichever one of them interests you most. Of course you can have 
more than seven if you like. Best of all is the pleasure of planning 
gifts, or helpful surprises for others. Vincent Van Marter Beede, in 
one of his plays for children, represents a "Friendly Witch," in the 
course of her broomstick travels, as bringing many delightful, funny 
surprises with her. Many a tired mother would welcome the presence 
of such a "friendly witch" in her own home I 

When you have once tasted the joy of helping others, not as a task 
but as a pleasure, your thoughts will soon learn to obey you ; all sorts 
of merry times, both work and play— for even work can and should be 
merry,— will fill the hours as a result; and you will grow up the 
healthy, happy creatures you were meant to be. May all sweet and 
healthful pleasures be yours! and may you become men and women 
of such power and purity as shall make the world a safer and hap- 
pier place than it has ever been before, and a fit dwelling-place for the 
healthy, beautiful, merry children that may one day add to your hap* 
piness ! 



±7 V. 



CHAPTER XX. 

BECOMING A WOMAN; MENSTRUATION. 

Indicates Capability to Bear Children — The Time for Mother's Counsel— New *t>wers — 
The Brain Intensely Active — Mothers t Question Your Daughters — "Thought she Was 
to he Changed Into a Boy"— Menstruation Is Natural and Healthful — The Ripening 
of the Life-Germ — A Reminder of Womanhood and Coming Power — Physical Reasons 
Against Immature Marriage — The Normal Flow Painless — Cold Climates — Tropical 
Child-Brides — Menses at Five Months of Age! — A Ten- Year-Old Mother! — Symptoms of 
the First Menstruation — Avoid All Chilling — Relieve from Excessive Strain — Correct 
Irregularities — No Menstruation During Pregnancy; Rarely During Nursing — Thirty 
to Thirty-Five Years of Ripening — Preparing for the Rest-Period. 

NOT only does woman owe much of her beauty and power to the 
regular, healthy performance of this important function, but 
its significance becomes doubly apparent when it is remembered that 
where menstruation occurs properly, it indicates that the womb is 
healthy and capable of conception and child-bearing. To the young 
daughter just coming into possession of her womanhood the mother 
should explain the true, beautiful meaning of the new experiences 
through which she is passing. Tell her there is nothing to fear; that 
the process is natural and that if she takes proper care of her health 
at this beginning of her life as a woman, she will find each month a 
repeated proof of the new powers maturing within her being. 

Between the ages of eleven and fourteen, the girl arrives at puberty, 
when great changes take place in her physical and mental nature. Up 
to this time, if she has grown naturally, her shoulders, waist and hips 
are about the same in width ; the sexual organs have grown but little ; 
but now they take a sudden start and need more room. Nature comes 
to her aid, and the tissues, muscles and pelvic bones enlarge ; the limbs 
grow plump, the breasts grow round and full, the girl stops growing 
tall and her whole body begins to round out and increase in strength. 

300 



BECOMING A WOMAN; MENSTRUATION. 301 

Tasks once hard are now easy. The voice becomes sweeter and 
richer; there is a new sparkle in her eyes, a new thoughtfulness and 
intelligence ; for the brain is intensely active now, and the mind is de- 
veloping even more rapidly than the body. Have a care, oh, mother, 
that the influences surrounding your daughter at this time are pure, 
healthful and uplifting; for as the bud blossoms into the rose it can 
be either a glorious unfolding or a sad blight ! If you take your daugh- 
ter early into your confidence and teach her wisely, tenderly, as only a 
mother can, she will be safe both from false views gathered from school- 
mates, and from the terrors of an unexplained mystery which should 
never be allowed to overtake her unprepared. 

Girls, in the absence of special instruction, have been greatly 
alarmed by the unexpected appearance of the menses, which they very 
naturally mistook for some dangerous internal hemorrhage; and in 
not a few cases instead of confiding in any one, have done themselves 
serious injury by the local application of cold water to stop the flow. 
This and other mistakes can be best avoided by taking the matter in 
time. 

THOUGHT SHE WAS TO LOSE HER SEX. 

It sometimes proves that the perforation in the hymen is lacking. 
When this is the case there will need to be a slight operation, otherwise 
the menstrual fluid, unable to escape, would cause constantly increas- 
ing inflammation and pain. The operation is nothing painful or tedious, 
but to illustrate the folly of failing to explain so simple a matter to the 
child, let me tell you of one case of utterly needless mental suffering, 
resulting from ignorance. The operation above referred to had to 
be performed. The little girl was terribly averse to it, and cried so 
pitifully that it was plain she had some great fear not to be easily ac- 
counted for. Years afterward she explained that she thought the 
operation was intended to change her from a girl into a boy! 

WHAT CAUSES THE MENSTRUAL FLOW. 

It is plain to my readers that all life, vegetable or animal, is from 
a seed or germ ; that in the animal kingdom every egg contains a germ, 



302 BECOMING A WOMAN; MENSTRUATION. 

which when brought under proper conditions will produce after its 
own kind ; and that an organ must always exist for the production and 
throwing off of these life-germs. In woman this organ, as we have 
seen, is the ovary, which matures and deposits its ovum or egg every 
twenty-eighth day, from about the ages of fourteen to forty-five, except 
that it ceases during pregnancy and usually during nursing. While 
the ovum is ripening and during its passage from the ovary through 
the Fallopian tube into the womb, the generative organs become greatly 
congested; this congestion at last reaching such a height that their 
blood-vessels overflow, producing a discharge of venous blood and 
other fluids which is called the menstrual flow. 

Menstruation, therefore, is simply the ripening and regular de- 
posit of an ovum or egg, which when not impregnated, is washed away 
by its surrounding fluids, together with that poured out from the blood- 
vessels in the membrane of the uterus. The process is also commonly 
known under the various names of the "menses," the "courses," the 
"monthly periods," and "being unwell"; although when woman's 
health reaches the ideal state, she will menstruate without the slight- 
est pain, and with no thought of being other than perfectly well. 

During pregnancy, however, the fluid is retained and supplies needed 
nourishment for the growth of the embryo. When the young daughter 
arrives at the age of puberty, this monthly function is a continual re- 
minder, therefore, of her womanhood, and should be regarded, not 
with aversion, but as a proof that she is one of the class set apart by 
nature to be entrusted with life's highest and holiest responsibility— 
that of preparing, under wise guidance, for possible future mother- 
hood; and it is important that this task of preparation be neither 
slighted nor hurried. 

PRECOCIOUS MARRIAGES. 

At the time when menstruation first appears, the girl ceases* to be 
a child, yet is only beginning to be a woman. It cannot be said that 
she is mature. Eight or ten years more are required for perfect de- 
velopment. Should she marry when only seventeen or eighteen* the 



BECOMING A WOMAN; MENSTRUATION. 303 

bones of the pelvis are not sufficiently developed; are not properly 
shaped for the purposes of labor; will not afford sufficient space for 
the head of the child to readily pass, as it would if she were of the 
riper age of twenty-three or twenty-five. It is for this reason that the 
woman who marries thus early, so often loses her health, through se- 
vere and dangerous confinements, and becomes the delicate mother of 
sickly children. 

Parents ought, therefore, to persuade their daughters not to marry 
until past twenty, and twenty-five is better. Physically and morally, 
they will be free, at this age, from many of those risks which precocious 
marriages bring in their train. 

The appearance of the menses, therefore, although a sign of dawn- 
ing womanhood, is not to be regarded as an evidence that the responsi- 
bilities of marriage are to be hastily assumed. 

HEALTHY MENSTEUATION. 

In a normal state the menstrual discharge is slight, amounting to 
three ounces or less, and lasting but three or four days. The process, 
as just stated, should also be entirely free from suffering, and a 
woman in perfect health need make no difference in her daily occupa- 
tions at this time. She will have no unpleasant symptoms and no 
reason for noticing the monthly period except the flow itself. But per- 
fectly healthy women are rare, and it is the exception rather than the 
rule, when one is found who suffers not at all in menstruation. Most 
women, under our present artificial manner of living, find it necessary 
to lighten their work somewhat, for a day at least ; headache and back- 
ache are all too common at these periods even among women who con- 
sider their general health fair ; and often serious disorders render the 
return of the menses a constantly recurring dread. 

This disturbed condition is both physical and mental. Often when 
there is congestion to a painful extent, it will be completely relieved by 
some pleasant occupation absorbing to the mind, together with physi- 
cal exercise which increases the circulation. 



304 BECOMING A WOMAN; MENSTRUATION. 

The chief disorders of this function are suppressed, painful and 
profuse menstruation. A chapter will be given especially to their 
treatment. 

CLIMATIC INFLUENCES. 

In temperate climates, the age at which menstruation most fre- 
quently begins is fourteen or fifteen. In cold climates, such as Rus- 
sia, the beginning is much later in life, often not until women are be- 
tween twenty and thirty years of age, and as it lasts thirty or thirty- 
five years, it is not unusual for these women to bear children at a very 
advanced age— even as late as sixty. The menstrual discharge, with 
them, is spare in quantity, and occurs, in some cases, not oftener than 
three or four times a year ; while some women menstruate only in warm 
weather. 

In tropical countries, like Abyssinia and India, the function is 
earlier, the menses often appearing at the age of ten or eleven ; and as 
the customs in those lands include early marriages, we hear of the 
Persian child-brides and the Hindu child-widows, of matrons and even 
mothers of twelve or younger. In Abyssinia and Bengal travelers 
have frequently seen mothers eleven years of age; and Dr. Goodeve, 
when stationed at Calcutta, said: "The earliest age at which I have 
knoivn a Hindu woman to bear a child is ten years, but I have heard 
of one at nine ! ' ' 

We are not surprised to learn that in such countries the women be- 
come old and decrepit at the age when those of our own land are in 
the very prime of their strength and beauty. 

FREAKS OF NATURE. 

Not a few cases have been given to the medical world of girls men- 
struating, in temperate climates, previous to ten years of age; some 
prior to five and several instances of the menses appearing in infants 
of only a few months. One instance is recorded of a girl in Pennsyl- 
vania who was born with breasts as large as hen's eggs, which in a few 
months, with her external genitals, developed to maturity in every 



BECOMING A WOMAN; MENSTEUATION. 305 

respect. The menses appeared when she was five months old. They 
appeared irregularly up to her sixth year, their suppression being 
attended with the usual disturbances noted in females of mature years. 
Subsequently, this abnormality (one of the few cases of such early 
menstruation) was lost sight of. 

Many years ago there was exhibited in Barnum's Museum a baby 
three years of age who was known to have menstruated, had pubic 
hair, well-developed breasts and intense amorous desires. 

An old journal describes the case of a child who menstruated at 
one year of age and was delivered of a child at the age of ten years 
and thirteen days. 

In general, in our own land, the appearance of the menses before 
the fourteenth year indicates premature development of the organs 
and is therefore regarded as unfortunate ; while their delay until after 
the sixteenth year is generally an evidence of weakness, or of some de- 
rangement of the generative system. If, however, all the other func- 
tions are regular, the general health good and the mind clear and active, 
there is no necessity for alarm. 

Those who live luxuriously, and whose physical training has been 
such as to make their nervous systems more susceptible, menstruate at 
a much earlier period than those who have been accustomed to coarse 
food and laborious employment. 

THE FIRST MENSTEUATION". 

When a girl's first period is approaching, it is generally preceded 
by a sensation of heaviness and languor ; headache, pains in the back, 
loins and thighs; enlarged, tender breasts; sometimes a constriction 
in the throat; a peculiarly dark tint of the complexion, especially 
under the eyes ; the perspiration has a faint, sickly odor, and the smell 
of the breath is peculiar. The appetite is likely to be capricious and 
the digestion somewhat impaired. For one, two &r three days these 
symptoms continue, but subside as the menses appear. The flow varies 
greatly in quantity and duration, with different individuals, continuing 



306 BECOMING A WOMAN; MENSTRUATION. 

from three to seven days. The best way to judge if the amount be 
normal is by its effect on the health. What would be a healthful flow 
in a strong, vigorous girl, would be excessive in one more delicate. 
The color of the fluid should be a bright red, resembling blood from a 
cut finger; but it is not wholly blood, and ought not to clot as blood 
does. 

Often there is a lapse of two or three months between the first and 
second menstruations. This in itself is not alarming; it merely indi- 
cates that the system is not quite ready for the permanent establish- 
ment of the function. Careful observation of the rules of health will 
usually be followed by regularity, as soon as the system becomes more 
thoroughly adjusted to the change. 

HYGIENIC PRECAUTIONS. 

During the menstrual flow, there must be no cold baths, foot baths, 
or wetting the feet by wearing thin shoes, as any one of these errors 
is almost certain to stop the flow, and sudden suppression is always 
most injurious. It was a barbarous custom that long made it neces- 
sary for women and girls to visit cold, draughty outhouses in all kinds 
of weather to obey nature's calls. Many serious derangements of 
the sex have resulted. Remember that the system is more easily 
chilled at this time of the month than at any other, and when chilled, 
suppression results. Over-exertion has equally bad effects, leading to 
displacements. 

At other times than during the flow, warm foot baths and sitz baths 
are valuable aids to the system in early life as well as later. Let a 
girl take plenty of sleep, exercise in the open air, wear light, loose, com- 
fortable clothing, eat nourishing, but easily digested food, and keep 
the bowels free, and there will be every reason to expect a healthy es- 
tablishment of the menstrual function. Gymnastics, when not carried 
to the point of fatigue, will be of assistance ; and sea-bathing is excel- 
lent. It is sometimes found best at this time to take an especially 
delicate girl from school life for a year, or until there has been a chance 



BECOMING A WOMAN; MENSTRUATION. 307 

to effect a complete adjustment of nature's plans. Physical freedom 
and absence from mental anxiety will alone often remove unfavorable 
tendencies. But in general, with the average bright, healthy American 
girl of to-day, the studies can proceed as usual, if only the rules of 
hygiene are carefully observed. 

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER, 

both before and during the menstrual period. Not only should a 
girl drink whenever she is thirsty, but take a large glass of water 
before breakfast, and at frequent intervals whenever it occurs to her. 
The body requires much water, and in all cases of disordered or pain- 
ful menstruation it assists in restoring healthful conditions. 

WHAT IS MEANT BY "REGULARITY." 

This includes quality, quantity and time. When fully established, 
the flow should be of the same quality each time, neither too thick nor 
too thin, too pale nor too dark; the quantity should be neither ex- 
cessive nor deficient; and the periods should recur at regular inter- 
vals. Very much depends upon this regular, healthy action of the 
menstrual flow, and where any irregularity exists a few months before 
marriage it is always best to consult an experienced physician and 
have the condition corrected at that time. If this is not done, either 
barrenness, miscarriage or ill health in some form will be likely to 
ensue. 

CESSATION DURING PREGNANCY. 

Some assert that women have been known to menstruate during 
pregnancy. This, however, would appear to be impossible; for the 
moment conception has taken place the neck of the womb becomes 
plugged up with mucus, and is, in fact, hermetically sealed. There is 
sometimes a very slight red discharge, coming on at the time of the 
monthly periods, but this does not come from the cavity of the womb, 
but from small blood-vessels at its mouth, and is not like the menstrual 
fluid at all, but a few drops of real blood, resulting from the rupture 



308 BECOMING A WOMAN; MENSTEUATION. 

of some of these small blood-vessels. It would be quite impossible 
during pregnancy for menstruation to occur. 

In rare instances, women have been known to menstruate during 
lactation— while nursing an infant; but this is exceptional, and the 
double drain would tend to unduly exhaust the life-forces, and de- 
teriorate the milk. It is well, therefore, when this occurs, to wean the 
infant as early as it can safely be done. 

Except during pregnancy and lactation, the menstrual function 
extends through the child-bearing period of a woman's life; usually 
from thirty to thirty-five years from the time it begins. When it fin- 
ally ceases, at the age of forty-three to forty-eight years, there is likely 
to be some disturbance of the system, as in establishing it. Care is 
necessary, it is true; and this subject of the "change of life" will be 
treated more fully by itself. But in cases where a woman has observed 
the laws of health from childhood, she has a much better prospect for 
safe and easy transition through life's rest period, to the later activ- 
ities which will be different from those of early life, indeed, but no 
less womanly and satisfying as her children and children's children 
grow up around her. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE SEXUAL EMBRACE. 

To the Pure, Sex-Love is Not Degrading — Progressing Beyond the Alphabet — Wise Con- 
nubial Sex-Relations a Refining, Uplifting Power — Excess Fatal to Love — Impaired 
Powers and Puny Children the Result — Examples of Animal Life— Not Only Desire, 
but Love is Required — In Moderation, Intercourse Gives Mutual Gain — Equalizes 
Male and Female Magnetism — Nature Gives Woman the Selection of Time — The 
Husband Must Continue to be the Lover — Motherhood a Sacred Shrine, Not to be 
Polluted — Tenderness of the Normal Man — Intercourse under Control of the Enlight* 
ened Will — Continence Means Brain-Power — Diet and Hygiene of Continence — Love 
the Preserver of Purity — A Message of Hope to the Struggler — You Are Not 
"Chained" — Womanhood Appeals to Your Higher Nature — The Divine Within You 
— Your Gift of Manhood — The Psalm of Grace and Power — Mind-Pictures of Success 
— The "Line of Least Resistance" — The King Crowning His Queen. 

SO CLOSELY related are the sexual and mental powers that it is 
not strange that perverted thoughts on this subject so invari- 
ably lead to disorder in the physical manifestations of the sex-life. 
The faculty of amativeness, or sex-love, has long been regarded by the 
majority as a low instinct, and so, indeed, it becomes, when separated 
in thought from the higher faculties. "As a man thinketh in his heart, 
so is he." To all who hold the idea that sex-love is degrading, it 
actually becomes such; because their thought has created a barrier 
between it and the feelings and emotions which elevate. 

THE LIGHT DAWNING. 

Love's alphabet teaches the pleasure of harmonious sex relations, 
and that children often result from the mere physical union, with or 
without recognition of the higher powers. But mankind is progressing 
beyond the alphabet, and glimpses of the grand possibilities of sex 
on the mental, and still grander on the spiritual plane are seen. Yet 
the most of humanity is only spelling out a few words of this wonder- 
ful life-lesson. The time will come when it will be recognized in its 

309 



310 THE SEXUAL EMBEACE. 

fullness. It is only when lowered to a mere selfish gratification that 
sex-love loses its power to bless and elevate. A happy marriage —one 
in which sexual relations are held in accordance with love and reason 
—affords the best condition for the development of a high spiritual 
life. Even when both husband and wife begin on the physical plane, 
not realizing the height to which their union is to lead them, if they 
love truly and unselfishly, if intelligence forbids excess and the wife 
be not overtaxed beyond her natural desire, the union will prove a re- 
fining, uplifting power, and its higher phases will dawn on the con- 
sciousness of both until they have a new and luminous understanding. 

EXCESSES IN EAELY MARRIAGE. 

I have already cautioned my readers against too early marriage 
because of the suffering resulting to the wife in such cases from physi- 
cal immaturity. There is another reason which must not be over- 
looked. Ordinarily a youthful couple, finding pleasure in the marriage 
relation, will repeatedly indulge in the sexual act until nature rebels 
and they become obnoxious to each other. For this is the natural and 
inevitable result of sexual excess. "When love gives place to lust, it 
must die, for as Prof. Fowler shows, the two are directly opposed to 
each other. 

Nor is this all. Continuing in ignorant excesses, the moral, intel- 
ligent and physical powers become impaired; puny, sickly children 
are born to be a care to every one and themselves while life shall last ; 
and after the first fires of youth have been thus extinguished, and 
sensuality has cut off its own pleasures, all ambition to be or do any- 
thing above the commonplace will have died out, leaving a stolid half- 
existence instead of the rich, ever-increasing life of power, based on 
love and knowledge. No young people should ever marry until they 
are strong enough and mature enough to control their passions, making 
unselfish love instead of temporary selfish pleasure, the guide. 

The lower animals and savages could teach civilized humanity a 
valuable lesson. Except in rare instances where animals are domesti- 



THE SEXUAL EMBRACE. 311 

cated, the female admits the male in sexual embrace only for procrea- 
tion. Among many savage tribes the same rule has few exceptions. 
Should civilized human beings hold, teach and practice that sexual 
intercourse shall occur in season and out of season, and then blame 
nature for the results? Eemember that intense sexual excitement par- 
alyzes the sexual organism. As Prof. Riddell says: " Where the 
well-being of offspring is involved, there should not only be a magnetic, 
ardent desire, but strong, pure, conjugal love. Love is the awakener 
of all the powers. Where at this event it is strong and ardent, it 
marshals all the other forces into action ; so that a child of love, other 
things being equal, is always superior to one begotten when the af- 
fections are passive. There should be pure thoughts, tender affection, 
mutual love and sacred associations, all producing perfect soul-sym- 
pathy, awakened forces and perfect union.' 9 

ACT MUST BE MUTUAL. 

If the lives of married people were always lived from the stand- 
point of this true, warm, pure, conjugal love, there would be self-con- 
trol, but not indifference. The demand of the man would be no more 
frequent than that of the woman; and let it be emphasized that the 
husband cannot sustain this relation satisfactorily and without injury 
to himself unless there is reciprocation on the part of the wife. Under 
the law of moderation there is no loss to either party, but a mutual 
gain; a compensation. 

Coition is a love act. It should never occur except where there can 
be this mutual participation on the part of both man and woman; 
and should be governed and guarded so as to control the creative 
power. 

By this act, the emblem of love, there is a mutual exchange of sub- 
tle elements which add to the health and vigor, more firmly cementing 
the union. 

Ever keeping the higher, the spiritual side of love uppermost 
in the thoughts will render the sexual embrace less frequent, but far 
more satisfying when it does occur ; children will come only when wel~ 



312 THE SEXUAL EMBRACE. 

corned and desired; and the act under such circumstances will make 
both stronger instead of weaker. 

HOW FREQUENT SHOULD IT BE? 

"Intercourse, as to time and frequency/ ' says a well-known writer, 
"can be governed by no certain law. Yet experience has proved that 
it is far more satisfactory to have at least an interval of two to four 
weeks; and many find that even three or four months afford greater 
impetus to power and growth, as well as greater personal satisfaction ; 
in the interval, the thousand and one lover-like attentions give re- 
ciprocal delight, and are an anticipating prophecy of the ultimate 
union. ' ' 

It is of the utmost importance that both should be in a condition of 
high physical vigor. The sexual act should never be indulged in at a 
time when either participant is tired or debilitated. Children con- 
ceived at such a time would be lacking in vitality; and the coition 
would also add to the exhausted conditions. 

At the close of the menstrual period is the time, physically speak- 
ing, when coition is usually most agreeable to women ; but unless chil~- 
dren are desired, it is better to choose a time twelve or fourteen days 
later. After fourteen days from the close of the period there is usually 
little chance of conception, until the near approach of the next period. 
In any case woman must choose the time. "A genuine man," says 
Prof. Fowler, "never obtrudes, but instinctively waits till invited, or 
at least assured that he is more than welcome. Universal normal 
manhood is called upon to attest the truth that obtrusion, in married 
life, destroys much of the pleasure of love. Right intercourse only 
equalizes, instead of consuming, male and female magnetism, and 
thereby strengthens and benefits both, without exhausting or injuring 
either." He also calls attention to the fact that nature accords to all 
female birds, beasts, reptiles and insects, the right of full control over 
their sexual organs; that in no single instance except among human 
beings, does the male ever obtrude upon the unwilling female. If he 



THE SEXUAL EMBRACE. 313 

sometimes makes advances first, it is by way of promoting desire in 
her; but they are at once withdrawn when not cordially accepted. 
Nature's law, therefore, is clearly for woman to determine the time. 

Inasmuch as desire is often lacking in woman and sexual congress 
must not take place when the desire for it is not mutual, how, then, it 
may be asked, may a right and healthy desire be promoted? 

By constant lover-like attentions on the part of the husband. Re- 
member that the key to woman's nature is in her affections, and that a 
woman's love is more mental and spiritual than physical. Let a hus- 
band ever remain the ardent lover of the courtship days, and his own 
efforts to exalt love to the highest plane will be rewarded by its physi- 
cal expression on the part of the wife. He will also be immeasurably 
benefited even aside from this ; for, as Ella Wheeler Wilcox says, "The 
highest plane of happiness is the result of self-conquest and the attain- 
ment of serenity— not the indulgence of the emotions, appetites and 
desires." 

CONTINENCE DUBING GESTATION. 

It seems incredible that any should need to be told nature's plain 
law that during pregnancy women should be exempt from the sexual 
relation ; yet many do practice coition at that time, and by so doing, im- 
plant in the coming life the seeds of sensuality, besides greatly increas- 
ing the suffering of the mother before and during the child's birth. 
The practice cannot be too strongly condemned. All the life-forces 
should be conserved and guarded at such a time ; and as Mrs. Chandler 
expresses it, "Undisturbed maternity, which was essential to the usher- 
ing in of the Prince of Peace, is equally in all cases a vital and indis- 
putable necessity for the improvement of humanity. Motherhood 
should be a shrine unpolluted by selfishness." 

Men naturally reverence the maternal in woman, and when they 
once understand that continence is necessary at such a time, to serve 
the best interests of motherhood and posterity, they will gladly prac- 
tice it. Dr. Alice B. Stockham relates the following, showing the ten- 
derness of a normal, pure-minded, high-souled man: 



314 THE SEXUAL EMBRACE. 

"A principal of a high school in Iowa was a married man many- 
years before he knew that the sexual relation was ever sustained dur- 
ing pregnancy. When he learned it, he asserted that his whole soul 
was filled with shame and disgust that his sex had no better knowledge 
of their protective duties relating to maternity.' ' 

WHEN INFLAMMATION EXISTS. 

In all cases of sexual disease, also, especially in inflammation of 
the womb, there should be a total abstinence from sexual relations. 
As many husbands do not understand the necessity for this, it is often 
difficult to accomplish. But the fact is that anything which tends to 
attract the blood to the womb will increase the inflammation; hence 
all sexual intercourse and everything which would suggest it to the 
mind, or in any way excite the passions, should be strictly avoided. 
Travel, or anything which pleasantly diverts the mind from the dis- 
eased condition is of the greatest benefit. At the "change of life," 
also,— the period when the entire system is in a disturbed condition- 
it will be seen that continence is an important aid to its readjustment. 

THE LAW OF CONTINENCE. 

In youth or age, in health or disease, we thus see that the law of 
continence has both its warnings and its rich rewards. The highest 
physical, mental and moral vigor is attained and the grandest ideals 
of creation met, when sexual intercourse is so completely under the 
control of the enlightened will as never to be indulged in except for the 
the express purpose of calling into life a new being, and then at suf- 
ficient intervals and under the most favorable conditions. 

CONTINENCE ITSELF CREATIVE. 

Remember that the reabsorption and diffusion of the seminal fluid 
throughout the system is just as truly a part of the generative func- 
tion as is the begetting of physical offspring. It is creation on the 
mental and spiritual plane instead of the physical; for as surely as 
this vivifying life-current pervades the blood it is taken up by the 
brain and " coined' ' into new thoughts, perhaps new inventions— grand 



THE SEXUAL EMBRACE. 317 

conceptions of the true, the beautiful, the useful,— or into fresh emo- 
tions of joy and impulses of kindness and blessings to all around. 
Men who have achieved great results in the field of science, invention, 
philosophy, religion and philanthropy have been those who led con- 
tinent lives. 

HOW TO ATTAIN TO THE HIGHEST. 

Perfect obedience to this greatest of all laws of the sex-nature is 
attainable by everyone, through intelligent endeavor. A few rules 
may help to direct the earnest seeker after the riches of the continent 
life. 

First, adopt a plain, unstimulating diet; avoid coffee, intoxicating 
drinks, highly seasoned dishes, oysters and eggs, and all animal food; 
and omit the evening meal. This is most important of all. Follow the 
ordinary hygienic rules as to dress, bathing, fresh air and exercise; 
sleep in separate beds, and rise early. Make the life a temperate one 
in all respects. 

We have seen that purity is the best preservative of love ; but the 
converse is also true. Love is the best preservative of purity. The 
continent life (by which I mean abstinence at unfavorable times, and 
moderation at all times) can be best attained under the influence of a 
strong, pure affection and its continual expression on the mental and 
spiritual plane. Go back to the days of courtship, and enjoy its pure 
delights now as you did then. The new regimen must be mental quite 
as much as physical; for the action of the mind controls the body. 
And right here is where many of you are likely to make a mistake. 
Do not concentrate your thoughts upon any struggle, or the difficulty 
you may experience in attaining. Read the following extract from 
a letter written by A. R. Heath, the President of the Prentice Mulford 
Club of Chicago, to one of the club's non-resident members, which was 
afterwards gratefully acknowledged to be the means of helping the 
member to the pure, free life he desired: 

"You speak of a sexual habit which you have. Now I do not wish 
to minimize the seriousness of that habit. But I do wish you to form 

18 V. 



318 THE SEXUAL EMBRACE. 

the clear and strong expectation of— not 'overcoming' it, but— leav- 
ing it behind. I do not wish you to form any mental conception that 
you are chained to a habit, and that it will take most gigantic effort 
to overcome it. I do not wish you to be living in the mental atmo- 
sphere of a terrible struggle, with the outcome in doubt. I do not wish 
you to concentrate on the 'struggle' at all. I intend you shall forget 
that. 

"Nor do I wish you to agonize in spirit over a yielding by you to 
the habit while you are following my instructions. If that occurs, it 
does not by any means call upon you to despair. Of course, if you aban- 
don yourself utterly to it, I can do little for you, for the basis of my 
help is for you to make up your mind definitely that you wish and 
intend to be free. But if that wish and intention is your prevailing 
habit of thought, I do not wish you to think of despairing if you are 
occasionally overtaken by a wave of the passion that has so long 
dominated you. Just be sorry, regret it, and be very sure that it is 
possible for you to grow out of it, and then proceed to jump right up, 
just as if you had not slipped, and keep right on in the better way. 

"Having said this much, I will now tell you to keep your mind full 
of sweet, pure thoughts. Think of womankind as the sweet counsellor, 
the sympathizing friend, the voice appealing to your higher nature. 
Never allow yourself to come into the presence of any other kind. 
But I think that for the present you will do well to think of sexual 
ideas as little as possible. There is a beautiful motto about 'conquer- 
ing by displacing.' Take care of your thoughts. By this I again say 
that I do not mean that you are to have a spirit of ' panic ' for fear that 
you will not be able to control yourself. But in the slang of the day, I 
advise you to 'forget it.' How? By thinking beautiful thoughts of 
what is really possible for you. You have the Divine within you. This 
body is the ' Holy Temple of God. ' Your mind is God in action. You 
can think God-thoughts. You can do God-deeds. Bead books that will 
tell you how to develop the God within you, and to make your manhood 
a sweet, pure, noble power in society. You are made for beautiful 



THE SEXUAL EMBRACE. 319 

things. Your gift of manhood is to make yon a greater soul and a 
stronger, broader thinking power than yon have ever conceived. 

' i If yon have a special taste for anything, so that when you see it, 
your soul is uplifted, and a psalm of grace and power seems to be sing- 
ing itself into your inner being, rest assured that that very thing, what- 
ever it may be, is the thing through which you are to develop a richer, 
fuller manhood, and attain to a high efficiency. Think earnestly upon 
that thing. Concentrate upon it. Believe in yourself. Form pictures 
in mind of yourself in the enjoyment of success in this lofty vocation, 
whatever it may be. Those pictures have their attractive power and 
will hasten your success. To think thus is a strictly scientific process 
which tends directly to breadth and growth. These are among the most 
powerful thoughts that we can have. Indulge in them. Not to become 
an idler, but to glorify your work, however humble, by visions of a 
beautiful success in life for you." 

Thus concentrating the mind upon some noble career, in accord with 
the individual tastes and therefore in the "line of least resistance, ' ' 
with the added sweetness of doing it all for the sake of the loved one, 
lightens the task unspeakably, and the victor comes forth a king among 
men, able to crown his queen with the greatest gift of a woman's life — 
that of a pure, ideal maternity. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE GIFT OF MOTHEEHOOD; CONCEPTION. 

Starting Points of Life — Meeting with God to Form a Human Soul — Lifelong Impres- 
sions from One Moment — The Father's Influence First — His Life-Germs are Living 
Beings — Their Extreme Activity — "A Serpent Bit an Egg" — Fish and Oysters Arti- 
ficially Multiplied — Double Impregnation — The Favorable Period — High Vigor Re- 
quired for Child's Sake — Spring the Time for New Life — The "Second Honeymoon" 
— Training to Prepare for the Best Offspring — The Food, the Breathing, the Baths 
and the Dress — Two Children Contrasted — Pre-ETatal Training Saves Much Time and 
Labor — A Splendidly Endowed Child — What to Cultivate; What to Restrain — You 
Can Counteract Heredity — A Stronger Force — The Supreme Moment — Pray as Never 
Before — God's Image to be Produced. 

THEEE are three moments of vital import to every human life; 
each in one sense a beginning. 

First of all is the initial moment of its very existence, when the 
creative forces of fatherhood and motherhood unite to form a new 
being. 

Second, birth ; when the child, parting from the shielding maternal 
nest, draws for the first time the breath of individual life. 

Third, regeneration, when the soul, quickened by a realization of 
its relation to an All-Loving, All-Wise and All-Powerful Source, takes 
up reverently the welcome task of developing those spiritual powers 
within, which are divine, but which have been hitherto lying dormant. 

Perhaps— nay, surely— death is a fourth beginning; but we are 
now concerned chiefly with the other three, which are to a greater or 
less extent under the conscious control of those on this side of death's 
portals. 

Well is it for the precious coming life if it be invited, and lovingly, 
wisely planned for in advance by those who have themselves reached 
the third of life's beginnings! It is a great responsibility to call into 
being an immortal life. How sacred should be this hour to the pros- 

320 



THE GIFT OF MOTHEEHOOD. 321 

pective parents ! What a sense of reverence, of lofty, tender purpose 
and pure joy should animate them as they thus meet with God to give 
form to a human soul ! 

POWER OF IMPRESSIONS AT CONCEPTION. 

It is now an unquestioned fact that initial impressions, those 
stamped upon the nature of the child at the moment of conception, are 
sufficient to influence in a marked degree its physical, mental, moral and 
social traits. Knowing this truth, it will be seen what a power is given 
to parents, and with what care it should be used. Fowler tells of one 
child conceived after the parents had just spent an especially pleasant 
day and evening with friends. The child grew up to be a charming 
young woman, with unusual social gifts. She made friends easily and 
was a favorite everywhere. 

A boy who was conceived just after his parents had attended a 
course of lectures that were a great intellectual treat to them, was 
quite superior to his brothers intellectually. Another, conceived after 
the parents had attended and greatly enjoyed a concert, showed marked 
musical abilities not possessed by either parent, though both were 
fond of music. 

AS PARENTS, SO CHILDREN. 

Better known, and no less wonderful than the power of these im- 
pressions is the fact that the entire body, mind and soul of the parents 
are represented in the tiny sperm and germ cells; and as are the 
parents, so will be these life-messengers. The sperm cell, propelled 
by the semen on its journey towards the ripened ovum, therefore car- 
ries with it all the developed and undeveloped traits, peculiarities and 
characteristics of the father, as well as those suggested by the activ- 
ities of his mind most prominent at the time of the creative act. 

FATHERS NO LESS RESPONSIBLE THAN MOTHERS. 

This fact makes it clear that even before the mother's pre-natal in- 
fluence, comes the father's. Both parents are equally responsible for 
the right or wrong tendencies transmitted; and heredity thus becomes 



322 



THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD. 



a powerful influence, excelled only by the wonderful secret enabling all 
to control and overcome it— a knowledge which is growing more and 
more luminous, and is to be one of the brightest lights of the twentieth 
century. 

Let us, then, take up in turn, the most significant questions con- 
nected with the moment of conception. 

What do we find, all things considered, to be the most favorable 
time and conditions for thus ushering a new being into existence? 
What specific preparation is necessary? and when 
should it begin ? If heredity is such a power, how can 
the transmission of undesirable traits in either parent 
be avoided? 

I will give to these questions an honest, conscien- 
tious answer, and then I shall expect the seekers after 
truth not only to accept it from me, but to seek rever- 
ently and earnestly for its further manifestations in 
their own experience. Truth is limitless and must be 
lived to be best understood. New light will certainly 
dawn, and each seeker will learn as the light is fol- 
lowed. Some of the less earnest ones, alas ! will learn 
through not following it, but it is a sad wisdom that 
comes through such experience— and comes too late! 
We must begin by a brief review of the process and 
the laws of conception. 

THE SPERMATOZOA. 



You will remember that in the chapter on "Life 
Centers," considering the physical beginnings of a 
human life, I spoke of the curious, exceedingly minute 
living beings consisting of oval-shaped bodies with 
long tails. These are the sperm cells, or spermatozoa; 
the life-germs of the male. They swim in the seminal fluid, a substance 
somewhat like the white of am egg. In full health and vigor these 
spermatozoa are both numerous and active ; in sickness or great debil- 



SPERMATOZOA 

(enlarged). 

The Life-germ 
supplied by the 
male. 



THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD. 



323 



ity they are few and weak, and in certain states of the system they 
disappear, and the power of reproduction no longer exists. 

LIBERATION OF THE SPERMATOZOA. 

The primitive germ-cell in the testicles bursts, and sets the smaller 
cells free; and these, in turn, liquefy and set free the now perfected 
spermatozoa; the fluid containing them passes on, as described in the 
chapter on the " Reproductive Organs," and finally reaches the semi- 
nal vesicles, which act as a reservoir. It is here that the cells become 
vivified, beginning to rush madly about in all directions, lashing their 
tails as though endowed with conscious life. If now expelled by the 
action of the dartos muscle, the first sperm-cell 
brought in contact with a ripened ovum of the 
female, will unite with it to produce a new being. 

You will remember the wave-like motion of 
the cilia in the uterus and Fallopian tubes. The 
motion of the spermatozoa is supposed to be 
caused by a similar law, and they retain their 
power of motion for hours, sometimes for days, 
after being evicted. 

Hundreds of spermatozoa are contained in a 
single drop of semen; and when deposited in the After being quickened by 
vicinity of an ovum, they are attracted by it, seminal liquid, 

surround it, and the one nearest to the germinal spot of the ovum 
strikes it with open mouth, as though seeking food. Thus the two 
germs are merged into one and the new life begun. "A serpent bit 
an egg and the first man was born," says an old legend. We can easily 
see how the story may have been founded on this most curious physi- 
ological fact; the spermatozoa resembling a serpent, and the ovum 
being an egg. 

ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION. 

The power of motion, and the unerring attraction of the male ele- 
ment to the female, can be traced throughout all nature. In fish, for 
instance, which do not copulate, the spermatozoa swim about in the 




THE SPERMATOZOA. 



324 



THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD. 



water until they come in contact with the eggs laid by the female. 
The ripe eggs or hard roe may be taken from the body of a female fish 
and the testicles or soft roe from the male, and by mingling them 
together they become fertilized. Ponds and rivers may thus be stocked 
with fish, and a similar means of artificial impregnation has proved 
successful with oysters. 

In mammals, including human beings, the seminal fluid containing 

the spermatozoa is thrown through the pe- 
nis, into the vagina of the female, and from 
there is conducted by the contractions into 
the uterus and up the 
Fallopian tubes toward 
the ovaries, to meet the 
ripened ovum. As these 
spermatozoa dart hith- 
er and thither in great 
numbers and with in- 
tense activity, some 
one of them is likely, if 
the time be favorable 
and there be no serious 
malformation, to reach 
the destined point, and impregnation results. But sometimes this 
fails to occur; when the womb is too low, for instance, as in the com- 
mon ailment of falling of the womb, the semen freighted with its nu- 
merous life-germs may proceed past instead of into the mouth of the 
womb, be lodged in some fold of the vagina and thus escape impreg- 
nation, 

HOW TWINS ARE PRODUCED. 

The spermatozoa are continually being formed by millions, while 
the ova are produced at the rate of only one or two as a rule, each 
month at the menstrual period. Usually one egg is discharged each 
month, the ovaries acting alternately; but sometimes both ovaries dis- 




OVUM. 

Blighted, about seven or eight 
weeks old. Too much gelatine 
formed in the funis, or umbilical 
cord. 




The chorion, sur- 
rounded by filament- 
ous vessels. 



THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD. 325 

charge their contents at once, or a follicle may contain two eggs. In 
either case, both eggs may be impregnated, and the result would be 
twins. 

As we have seen, the human egg is not unlike that of fowls except in 
its minute size. In the case of fowls, there must be contained within 
the shell of the egg all the matter of which the perfect bird is to be 
formed ; but in the human being, the embryo is nourished by the blood 
of the mother, while in the uterus. It does not need at the outset, 
therefore, the proportionate bulk of the fowl's ^j> 

egg, which receives no such additional nourish- j^^^^^ b 

ment. 

THE TIME CHOSEN. 

Since impregnation can only take place at 
some time when there is a ripened ovum set free, 
but still remaining in the generative regions, 
which process takes place in all healthy females 
at the time of the menstrual period, it follows Vessels mor6 numer . 
that the spermatozoa, if introduced either too °™ er at olnt^Tormm^a 
early or too late for the presence of the ovum. basis for the placenta. 

** t At b the chorion is 

will not become thus united ; and as a rule, con- denuded of the shaggy 
ception ban only result, therefore, from the 
sexual congress within eight, or at most, twelve days of the menstrual 
period. The spermatozoa may meet the ovum when first liberated and 
drawn into the Fallopian tube; or the ovum may possibly find the 
spermatozoa awaiting its' arrival in the uterus ; or the connection may 
take place at the very close of the ovum's stay in the uterus. 

It follows, then, that if all conditions are normal, the sexual act, to 
result in conception at all, should occur within three days before the 
beginning, or within ten days after the close, of the menstrual period. 
For some reasons, the latter would seem preferable; and strict con- 
tinence for at least a month before would well repay both participants. 
To best endow the child, conception should be when the sex- vigor is at 
its height ; this usually being with women at the close of the menstrual 




326 



THE GIFT OF MOTHEEHOOD. 



flow, and with both men and women, at the close of at least a month 
of entire abstinence from the sexual relation. For it is an ascertained 
fact that even healthy parents can transmit their health, intellect and 
morals only according to the amount of sexual vigor that they possess 
at the moment of the creative act. 

PHYSICAL PREPARATION. 

It is important that physical vigor, also, be at high tide. Never 

should the new life be initiated at a time when either parent is tired, 

exhausted or in any way indisposed. Better by far would it be to take 

rips a month's vacation, and give the 

time wholly to bringing the health 

up to its highest possible condition. 







NATURE'S FAVORITE BIRTH-SEASON. 



It is noticeable that Nature 
usually seems to prefer the spring- 
time for the bringing forth of new 
life in both the plant and animal 
worlds. While man has more lati- 
tude in this respect than the lower 
animals, still it would seem not 
unwise to heed the hint that Na- 
ture gives. In climates where ex- 
tremes of temperature are common, 
a child born in the spring has many 
advantages over one born in summer or winter; the time for weaning 
is more favorable than with one born in the fall; and the mother 
recovers more rapidly as the early summer breezes coax her fre- 
uently into the open air. 
Summer, then, would be an especially favorable time of year for 
conception; and if the wedding was in June, what better plan could 
there be for the anniversary than to prepare (after a year's continent 
ov moderate love-expression) for the actual initiation of the little com- 



OVUM. 

Fig. 3. 

Progress of forming the placenta. Em- 
bryo seen at c, eight weeks old. The pel- 
lucid membranes a have increased in ex- 
tent. 



THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD. 327 

ing life by first taking a restful, invigorating trip during which the 
" honeymoon' ' can be renewed and the health of both parents brought 
up to its full standard? This plan would serve a double purpose, in- 
vigorating not only the health but the love-faculties. As shown in the 
preceding chapter, a child conceived when the affections are active, 
pure and intense is immeasurably superior to one begotten when the 
love-powers of either parent are passive. 

As for the time of day, that time is best which has been preceded 
by a good night's sleep. One author says that the bodily and mental 
functions are most active near noon, and recommends that hour for 
the procreative embrace. Early morning, however, if the health be 
normal, and the sleep restful, would also seem a good time to insure 
perfect physical freshness, sexual vigor and intellectual clearness. 

Previous to the time chosen, there should always be thorough self- 
examination by both parents to discover in what traits they are lack- 
ing, and in what ones over-strong; they should study their ancestry, 
not with a thought of fear, but of hope, to see what slumbering talents 
and virtues may be now re-awakened ; should study their likeness and 
unlikeness to each other, and decide what qualities they desire to have 
strongest in their offspring— and then train for it. Wonderful results 
are thus achieved. The more thorough the preparation by both parents 
the better. It is a labor of love that brings rich rewards. 

PHYSICAL TRAINING. 

The blood is the life. To make sure that its quality is the best, and 
thus worthy of transmission, two things are necessary; wholesome, 
well-digested food, and plenty of oxygen. Develop strong digestive 
powers by eating nourishing, rather than stimulating food. As Prof. 
Riddell says, hygienic cooking for two generations would substantially 
improve the race. Eat slowly ; take plenty of time, and let the thoughts 
and conversation at table be always on cheering topics. Drink little 
or nothing at meals, but eat plenty of fruit. Never worry or fret while 
eating ; never overload the stomach, and do not expect to cure dyspep- 



328 



THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD. 




SYSTEMATIC CIECULATION. 

Heavy lines indicate the arteries. 

The right upper figure shows in detail the heart and its blood ves- 
sels, heavy lines indicating arteries all through. 

The right lower figure shows the connection of the circulation of 
heart, lungs and abdomen. 



THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD. 329 

sia or kidney trouble while using tobacco. Alcohol should never enter 
the stomach; and pastry, confectionery, condiments, pork and fried 
meats are also to be avoided. 

Breathe plenty of fresh air; do not have rooms overheated; give 
great attention to ventilation; and it is well for both parents to make 
a practice of regular deep breathing in the open air at stated periods 
at least twice daily. In the chapter on "A Breath of Air," you will re- 
call, are instructions for deep breathing. 

Exercise the whole body, especially any weak or undeveloped por- 
tions, but avoid overwork. A man of sedentary occupation— a writer 
—was deficient in physical strength at the time his first child was con- 
ceived. The child had a fine brain but low vitality. The father then 
look ap systematic physical culture, and the next son had a fine physi- 
que and as good a brain as his brother. 

Bathing should include the daily morning sponge-bath and the warm 
tub-bath twice a week. The dress should be rational; corsets should 
be abandoned by the prospective mother long before conception, and 
the weight of the clothing hung entirely from the shoulders. Never 
resort to opiates ; instead, cure nervousness or wakefulness by a proper 
diet, abundant fresh air, the warm bath and physical culture. Seven or 
eight hours of sound, refreshing sleep every night, with open windows, 
should be the rule. 

Be continent; for this strengthens the sex powers, increases the 
love-faculty and promotes harmony; and it gives a pure inheritance. 
Sir Isaac Newton was conceived after two years of continence. He 
had a splendid inheritance. 

MENTAL AND MORAL PREPARATION. 

If possible, the specific training should begin at least a year before 
conception and continue until birth. It is a great saving of time, for 
two years of systematic study and training by the prospective parents 
will actually go farther than ten years of the most careful and pains- 
taking instruction of the child after birth. It will count for more, in 
the long run, in the child's education. 



330 THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD. 

A girl of ten, in Michigan, was observed to be unusually well- 
formed, pretty, highly magnetic, pleasing in manner and intellectual, 
easily excelling her schoolmates of the same age. Inquiry revealed the 
fact that the little life had been carefully planned for ; that the parents, 
neither of whom was remarkable, had followed sedentary occupations, 
but had taken physical training for a year before the child's concep- 
tion, and had lived hygienically ; that the mother had given much at- 
tention to elocution and art, the father being an artist. The child ex- 
celled in all studies, but particularly in art ; and was highly dramatic, 
graceful, self-possessed and lady-like; an exceptionally, but intention- 
ally, well-born child. 

Cultivate self-respect, dignity, and some worthy ambition. If a 
specific mental or moral power is very strong or very weak in both 
parents, that strength or that weakness is likely to be greatly exagger- 
ated in the child. Suppose, for instance, that both parents are firm 
and positive ; not to the extent of a serious fault, in themselves, yet if 
this quality is kept active, the child will have a double supply and be 
wilful and stubborn. It is better, therefore, for such parents to culti- 
vate a more yielding spirit. The child may then have less obstinacy 
than either but still retain a desirable degree of pertinacity. 

The same rule applies with all other mental and moral traits. In 
this training, some qualities will need to be earnestly cultivated, oth- 
ers will require restraining, all with a view to establishing a well-bal- 
anced, strong, harmonious nature. 

"When both parents are extremely active and energetic, the chil- 
dren tend to be bundles of transmitted nervous activity, to go pell-mell 
into everything and wear out before they are thirty; or else they are 
sadly deficient in energy, seemingly "born tired," which results from 
the parents' completely exhausting their energy and having none left 
to transmit. 

The training in such a case would lie in the direction of moderation, 
both parents learning the art of resting, and of working more slowly. 

On the other hand, when both parents are sluggishly inclined, they 



THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD. 331 

should train physically, by diet and exercise, to get rid of fat; should 
work hard several hours each day; and strive to feel vigorous and 
active, cultivating the will. In this way they can transmit a fine de- 
gree of physical courage, energy and aggressiveness not naturally 
possessed by themselves. 

Mechanical ingenuity may be transmitted by devoting a little time 
each day to the use of tools, machinery, or some study which, like 
architecture, or dressmaking, requires close observation, a knowledge 
of proportions, and care in putting together. 

Memory can be strengthened and transmitted by concentration. 
Get a clear, vivid mental picture of what is to be remembered; and 
repeat it over and over again to yourself. Try to memorize bits of 
poetry, philosophy or historical facts, giving a half hour or more every 
day to the practice. Any study or art in which it is desired that the 
child shall excel, should have this special, systematic attention by both 
parents, whether their own talents lie in those directions or not. 

It will be found that persistent mental force, thus directed, is a 
stronger power than heredity. One prospective mother, herself de- 
ficient in musical ability, determined that her child should be better 
endowed in this respect. She took music lessons during the latter 
months of pregnancy, and the result was that the child learned music 
easily. Had she known, she could, with her husband's help, have still 
further increased the child's talent by giving it special attention before 
and at conception. 

The moral faculties, justice, truth, honesty, temperance, cheerful- 
ness, generosity, kindness, should be cultivated and strengthened in 
precisely the same way— by systematic thought and practice, avoiding 
every approach to their opposites. Reverence for things sacred, for 
old age, for superiors, and the power of seeing good in all things, is a 
heritage greatly to be desired. It can be given, in every instance, by 
these methods. Whatever is lacking in yourself which you would see 
in your child, practice assiduously; and the longer before conception 
this is begun, the better. 



332 THE GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD. 

Finally, as the moment arrives to bestow the gift of life, the pros- 
pective parents should enter the silence and hold communion with the 
living God, until they have subordinated the carnal self and exalted 
the spiritual. If they have never prayed before, they should now ; not 
in fear, but in reverence and awe. If ever two souls needed the bap- 
tism of the Holy Spirit, it is in the performance of this sacred func- 
tion. If they would create a child in God's image, His spirit must ani- 
mate their natures at this time when they unite to give form to a soul. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

LIMITATION OF OFFSPRING. 

Joy of Parenthood — Perversion of the Function — Unwelcome Children — Consider This 
Seriously — Over-Population Feared — Records of Norway and Switzerland — Limitation 
a Duty — One Preventive Check — Nursing No Preventive — Abortion is Criminal — 
Malformation Alone Justifies It — Limitation is Not Infanticide — Limitation Destroys 
No Life — Mechanical Appliances Dangerous — Prof. Fowler's Objections — The Discov- 
ery of Limitation by Control — Objections Answered — Another Method — Love's Highest 
Plane — Striking Quotations — The Woman Who Cursed God — The Coming "Diamond 
Age." 

NO JOY on earth can equal that of parenthood. It is the greatest 
of blessings. But blessings, perverted, change to curses. While 
prudence suggests that the number of children born to any married 
couple be limited in accord with the ability to care for them, it is yet 
few, comparatively speaking, who will listen to the voice of prudence 
in this respect. Unfortunately for the race, irresponsible sexual in- 
tercourse is so largely the rule among the married, that unwelcome, 
sickly and viciously inclined children are thrust into the world with 
no chance to make their own lives such as will be worth living. 

A SERIOUS PROBLEM. 

For the sake of society as it is and as it should be ; for the sake of 
those wives whose husbands have not learned self-control, and those 
children who are robbed of their just heritage by this ignorant, im- 
moral practice of calling them into life when life has nothing to offer 
them, I advocate a brave and serious consideration of this problem. 

There is a tendency in all animated existence to increase faster than 

the means of subsistence. In plant-life, the soil, moisture, sunlight, 

may all be favorable, but if seeds are allowed to multiply until the 

plants become overcrowded, the result will be weak, dwarfed, sickly 
19 v. 335 



336 LIMITATION OF OFFSPRING. 

plants. It is the same with human plants. As advancing civilization 
gradually subdues the three great life-destroyers— war, famine and 
pestilence— the problem of increasing population will stand out with 
even more clearness than it has done in the past. 

LIFE PROLONGED BY SELF-CONTROL. 

"So far as is known,' ' says Anna Besant in her "Law of Popula- 
tion, " * ' the countries which have practiced a great degree of voluntary 
prudence for the longest time are Norway and Switzerland. In both 
countries the increase of population is very slow, and what checks it is 
not multitude of deaths but fewness of births. Both the births and 
deaths are remarkably few in proportion to population; the average 
duration of life is longest in Europe, undoubtedly due to the fact that 
the population contains fewer children, and consequently a greater 
proportion of persons in the vigor of life than is found in any other 
part of the world. 

"The fewness of births tends directly to prolong life by keeping the 
people in comfortable circumstances. " 

HOW NUMBER MAY BE LIMITED. 

Montague Cookson says and urges that the number of children born 
after marriage should be limited and that ' ' such limitation is as much 
the duty of married persons as the observance of chastity is the duty 
of those who are unmarried." He goes on to recommend, as a pre- 
ventive check, the observance of certain natural, physiological laws 
such as I have mentioned elsewhere. "The family may be limited," 
he says, "by obedience to natural laws which all may discover and 
verify if they will. A woman is more apt to conceive soon after men- 
struation than at any other time; so much is this fact recognized by 
the medical profession that in cases of sterility a husband is often 
recommended only to visit his wife immediately after the cessation of 
the monthly flow; since women conceive more easily at this period, 
the avoidance of sexual intercourse during the few days before and 
after menstruation has been recommended as a preventive check." 



LIMITATION OF OFFSPRING. 337 

Dr. Tyler Smith writes: "In the middle of the interval between 
the periods there is little chance of impregnation taking place.' ' 

The same kind of knowledge is of use, by the way of cantion, to 
women who menstruate during lactation, in whom there is a great 
aptitude to conceive; pregnancy, under such circumstances, would be 
injurious to the health of the foetus, the child at the breast, and the 
mother herself, and should therefore be avoided. 

Only six or seven per cent of conceptions take place during this 
interval between the menses. Women are far less likely to conceive 
midway between the menstrual periods than either before or after 
them. 

NURSING NO CHECK TO CONCEPTION". 

There is a preventive check attempted by many poor women which 
is most detrimental to health, and should therefore never be employed ; 
namely: The too long persistence in nursing one baby, in the hope 
of thereby preventing the conception of another. Nursing does not 
prevent conception. For a mother to nurse during pregnancy is highly 
improper; it not only injures her own health, and may bring on a 
miscarriage, but it is also prejudicial to her babe, and may produce a 
delicacy of constitution in both from which they may never recover. 

ABORTION. 

Another class of checks is distinctly criminal; the procuring of 
abortion. Various drugs are taken by women with this intent, and too 
often their use results in death, or in dangerous sickness. Yet there 
are cases in which, because of some malformation, the child cannot be 
born alive, when physicians are compelled to induce premature delivery 
to save the life of the mother. Dr. Fleetwood Churchill gives various 
methods of inducing labor prematurely, and argues, justly, that where 
the delivery of a living child at the full time is impossible, it is better 
to bring on labor than to be compelled to perform later either crani- 
otomy or the Caesarian section, But he goes further: "There are cases 
where the distortion (of the pelvis) is so great as to render the passage 



338 LIMITATION OF OFFSPRING. 

of a seven months' child impossible, and others still worse, where no 
reduction of a viable child's bulk will enable it to pass. I do not see 
why abortion should not be induced at an early period in such cases." 
And Dr. Churchill quotes Mr. Ingleby as saying: "Premature labor 
may, with great propriety be proposed on pregnancy recurring, as- 
suming the delivery of a living child at term to have already proved 
impracticable." But if the delivery of a living child has proved to 
be impossible, surely the prevention of conception is far better than 
the procuring of abortion. The destruction of the foetus is the de- 
struction of life ; and it is immoral, where a woman cannot bear a living 
child, that she should conceive at all. 

I cannot agree with those who consider it wrong lO limit the birth- 
rate, even by continence and self-control. Let the distinction between 
right and wrong in this matter of limitation be clearly made. "An 
extraordinary confusion exists in some minds," says Mrs. Besant, "be- 
tween preventive checks and infanticide. People speak as though pre- 
vention were the same as destruction. But no life is destroyed by the 
prevention of conception, any more than by abstention from marriage. 

* * * Life is not made until the male and female elements are 
united; and if this is prevented, either by absention from intercourse 
among the unmarried, or by preventive intercourse among the mar- 
ried, life is not destroyed, because the life is not yet in existence." 

* * * "To limit the family is no more a violation of nature's laws 
than to preserve the sick by medical skill ; the restriction of the birth- 
rate does not violate nature's laws more than does the restriction of 
the death-rate." 

FOREIGN SUBSTANCES INJURIOUS. 

The use of certain mechanical appliances, common among dissolute 
classes, does not and cannot protect them from the ill effects of their 
debauchery. Inflammations and venereal diseases, the most loathsome 
and frightfully painful known, are certain to overtake them if they 
persist in such practices, either with or without the mechanical checks 



LIMITATION OF OFFSPRING. 339 

to conception. The insertion of pessaries or their equivalents, recom- 
mended by some as preventive checks, is not to be advised. Prof. 0. S. 
Fowler speaks emphatically on this point. He says : "Pessaries neces- 
sarily injure. Foreign substances must needs inflame, and create 
ulcers/ ' 

PREVENTIVE INTERCOURSE THROUGH CONTROL, 

There is, however, a method of prevention depending on the com- 
plete control of both husband and wife throughout the entire relation, 
so that unless procreation is desired the final orgasm is entirely avoided. 
In a pamphlet giving the history of the discovery, the author explains 
how he was brought to the experiment. Said he : " The discovery was 
occasioned and even forced upon me by very sorrowful experience. In 
the course of six years my wife went through the agony of five births ; 
four of them premature ; only one child lived. This experience is what 
directed my studies and kept me studying. After our last disappoint- 
ment I pledged my word to my wife that I would never again expose 
her to such fruitless suffering. I made up my mind to live apart from 
her rather than break this promise. I conceived the idea that the sex- 
ual organs have a social function which is distinct from the propagative 
function, and that these functions may be separated practically. I 
experimented on this idea, and found that the self-control which it re- 
quires is not difficult; that my enjoyment was increased; that my wife's 
experience was very satisfactory, as it had never been before; that 
we had escaped the horrors and fear of involuntary propagation. This 
was a great deliverance. It made a happy household. I communi- 
cated my discovery to a friend. His experience and that of his house- 
hold were the same. In normal condition, men are entirely competent 
to choose in sexual intercourse whether they will stop at any point 
in the voluntary stages of it, and so make it an act of communion, or 
go through to the involuntary stage, and make it an act of propaga- 
tion." 

Noting the objections urged against this method of connubial em- 
brace, the author continues: "The wholesale and ever-ready objec- 



340 LIMITATION OF OFFSPRING. 

tion to this method is that it is unnatural, and unauthorized by the 
example of other animals. I may answer, in a wholesale way, that 
cooking, wearing clothes, living in houses, and almost everything else 
done by civilized man is unnatural in the same sense. * * * But 
I will come closer to this objection. The real meaning of it is, that 
male continence, as taught by us, is a difficult and injurious interrup- 
tion of a natural act. * * * If it is noble and beautiful for the 
betrothed lover tG respect the law of marriage in the midst of the 
glories of courtship, it may be even more noble and beautiful for the 
wedded lover to respect the unwritten laws of health and propagation 
in the midst of the ecstasies of sexual union. The same moral culture 
that ennobles the antecedents and approaches of marriage will some- 
time surely glorify the consummation. ' ' 

ANOTHER METHOD. 

Here is a practical suggestion by Dr. T. R. Allison, which, if heeded, 
would surely result in fewer and superior children, and greatly im- 
proved health of the parents as well. He says: "From a health point 
of view, it is better to occupy separate beds. Women are affectionate, 
and when they nestle close to a man, they excite sexual desire on the 
part of the man. Married couples will do well to sleep in separate 
beds. By this means, intercourse occurs less often, and health is pre- 
served; for opportunity is the cause of much useless and injurious 
intercourse. ' ' 

CREATIONS HIGHEST LAW. 

Best of all is the cultivation of that high altitude of thought and 
life which lifts love above the physical plane, and counts it no privation 
to refrain altogether from the sexual act save at the times most favor- 
able for the welfare of parents and child alike. Sexual intercourse 
should be only for the purpose of procreation. Invite children only 
when welcome. Obedience to this, creation's highest law, would solve 
the whole painful problem of limitation ; besides immeasurably in- 
creasing the health of both parents. This ideal condition is becoming 



LIMITATION OF OFFSPEING. 341 

real in instance after instance, as the light dawns on growing souls. 
It is to be the condition of the future. Meanwhile, in humanity's im- 
perfect development, there are so many authorities agreed on the 
importance in many instances of making the sexual act fruitless, that 
I give quotations from several of them : 

Sismondi, who was among the most benevolent of his time, and the 
happiness of whose married life was celebrated, says: "When dan- 
gerous prejudices have not become accredited, when our true duties 
toward those to whom we give life are not obscured in the name of a 
sacred authority, no married man will have more children than he 
can afford to bring up properly.' ' 

Dr. Elliot says: "There are times and conditions when the birth 
of children is a wrong to the community. It is wrong, either know- 
ingly or ignorantly, to bring into the world through no fault of its 
own, a being impure, unhealthy and incomplete, only to suffer and die, 
or to live a life of misery and imperfection, and perpetuate the curse 
in succeeding generations. ' ' 

Dr. Nichols says: "The world is full of miserable wretches, the 
results of sexual commerce forced upon a loathing wife by a drunken 
husband. ' ' 

Prof. H. Newell Martin says: "Many a wife who might have led 
a long and happy life is made an invalid, or brought to premature 
death or insanity, through being kept in a chronic state of pregnancy." 

Eichard Carlile says: "It is not wise, not parental, not kind, to 
breed children to such disasters (disease, pestilence, fa mi ne). It is 
better that they should not be born than be cut off prematurely by dis- 
ease, or struggle through a life of disease, poverty and misery— a life 
of pain to themselves, and both a pain and burden to their parents.'' 

"The world is groaning," says another, under the curse of chance 
parenthood. It is due to posterity that procreation be brought under 
the control of reason and conscience." 

Dr. Dressier gives a forceful illustration, one woman's confession 
to another, revealing the agonizing state of mind she was in: "There 



342 LIMITATION OF OFFSPEING. 

was the eternal round of hard duties ; no rest for body or mind. There 
was the unending sickness that precedes childbirth, and the heavy 
dragging at back and brain. Life was nothing but the acute conscious- 
ness of imposition and cruel wrong. I turned away from prayer, with 
a mental curse upon God for making men the lustful creatures they 
are, and creating women as the tortured receptacles of their lusts/ ' 
"This is an instance desperate in the extreme/ ' comments Dr. Dress- 
ier, "but motherhood does become a curse and terror to nearly all 
women who are deprived of the control of the maternal function, when 
it should be the choicest of blessings. Nothing will so surely destroy 
the mother instinct as the enforced intimacy of marriage, from 
which escape seems impossible. Not until enforced motherhood ceases 
to be, not until such children are conceived as are desired by both 
parents, will abortion cease. These are two evils which destroy the 
finer instincts of women in the havoc caused by loss of health and hope, 
through the slavish drudgery to maternal requirements. ' ' 

Oh, for the coming of the "diamond age" of the world's history, 
when such abnormal horrors shall cease to exist ! The curse shall yet 
give way to the blessing, and motherhood be the great privilege, the 
sacredly guarded trust, that it was divinely meant to be. Thank God 
that in many, very many instances it is so even now! This, and this 
alone, is normal maternity. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE MOTHEB-ABTIST. (PRE-NATAL CULTURE.) 

An Endless, Widening Stream — The Ennobling Art — A Co-Laborer with the Divine — 
Intelligent Breeding of Animals — Shall Humanity be Left Behind? — Tenfold Harder 
by Deferring — Joyous Greeting for the Little One — "I Never Dreamed How Happy 
You Were!" — "Lovin' 'em Right Along from the Beginning" — No Limit to the 
Mother's Power — Hygiene and Beauty the Earliest — Surroundings of Greek Mothers 
— The Reason for the Italian Madonna-Type — Two Sisters Contrasted — You Can 
Counteract a Repulsive Sight — Implanting the Mental and Moral — Acquisition — 
Honesty — Sociability and Good Cheer — Literature — Your Child a Leader — Build Up 
the Soul! — The Father a Sympathetic Helper — Four Sons; All Planned For — Life a 
Wonderland of Treasures. 

IF THE fairy godmother of some olden tale were to appear to-day 
and offer you the proverbial granting of three wishes for your 
child, would it not seem like a wonderful treasure indeed— this power 
bestowed upon you? Yet a power even more marvelous is actually in 
the keeping of every mother. It is a power beginning to be recognized, 
yet even now immeasurable, and, like that of electricity, is as yet im- 
perfectly studied and exercised. When it is more widely understood, 
we shall have a race of beings as far surpassing the present-day hu- 
manity as these surpass the semi-barbarous nations of the world's 
cruder ages. 

THE INCOMPETENT MOTHER. 

"Ignorant and undeveloped motherhood, ' ' says a writer, "has been 
a terrible curse to mankind. An incompetent artist is simply a pathetic 
failure. A superficial woman lawyer simply goes clientless. A trivial 
woman doctor may get a chance to kill one or two patients, but her ca- 
reer of harm will be brief. A shallow or lazy woman journalist will be 
crowded out and back by the bright and industrious fellows who are 
her competitors. But a superficial, shallow, incompetent or trivial 

mother has left a heritage to the world which can and does poison the 

343 



344 THE MOTHER-ARTIST. 

stream of life as it flows on and on in an endless widening of incompe- 
tence, or pain, or disease, or insanity, or crime.' ' 

A MOTHER'S INFLUENCE. 

Napoleon uttered a great truth when he said, "The future destiny 
of the child is always the work of the mother.' ' It is a work which 
must be begun before the child is born ; and what art so ennobling, so 
far-reaching in its results, as the perfect molding of a human life in all 
that beautifies and uplifts. Truly the mother-artist is a co-laborer 
with the Divine. 

An artist, to be successful, must have a continual mental picture 
of the perfected work— must think of it by day, dream of it by night, 
and always delight in it as a vision of beauty. So with the mother; 
for there is no limit to the perfection that is attainable through intel- 
ligent transmission. The stream of improvement, once started, will 
not stop with our children, but go on and on for centuries. As a writer 
has said, "We can provide two hundred years in advance for the wel- 
fare of our progeny. By preparing wisely and conscientiously for the 
happy birth of our children, we implant a tendency in them to like 
wisdom and consecration. By continuing this for six generations, they 
will be vastly superior to us. Analogies exist in all our fine plants 
and animals which originally came from wild and crude stock. Their 
perfection is the result of intelligent breeding and cultivation. It is 
only in ourselves that we neglect this forethought and care. We have 
not yet reached, and never will reach the limit of perfection in im- 
proving the human species." 

In illustration, the facts are cited that our race-horses are becoming 
faster and finer every year ; that in England, stock-breeders study with 
the most painstaking care how to improve animals by judicious mating 
and breeding ; that Japanese jugglers and acrobats are the finest in the 
world simply because they are trained to be acrobats for generations 
back. 

No less is it possible to control the tide of human destiny in our 



THE MOTHER-AKTIST. 345 

own land, in our own homes, by coming into conscious harmony with 
the Creator's plan and giving to our children exactly such physical, 
mental and moral qualities as we wish them to possess in order to 
add honor and delight to the world they are to inhabit. 

What sacrifices would a true mother not make to give to her dearly- 
loved invalid child the single blessing of health? or to the fretful 
one, happiness? or to the mentally deficient one, a new brightness of 
intellect? But she often makes the task needlessly hard by deferring 
it. The time to bestow all priceless gifts on the little one is before 
its advent into the visible world. 

How is this to be done? First of all, by 

A LOVING WELCOME. 

First of all requisites is joy at this great privilege. Lucinda 
Chandler says: "The most precious blessing of a human life is a 
welcome into existence through the baptism of love. That children 
are coming into the struggle of mortal experience the victims of 
parental ignorance, weakness and unwillingness, is the saddest of all 
human shortcomings. ' ' 

Yes, give the little ones a loving, joyous welcome from the very 
first. In one of Saxe Holmes' stories telling of life in a town where 
the old heedlessness and ignorance prevailed, we have a beautiful 
picture of the power of loving thoughts on the coming life, and of 
how such thoughts illumined other lives as well: 

"In the early days of the second winter came the Angel of the 
Annunciation, bearing a white lily to Draxy. Her joy and gratitude 
were unspeakable, and the exquisite purity and elevation of her nature 
shone out transcendent in the new experience. 

" 'Now I begin to feel surer that God really trusts me,' she said, 
* since He is going to let me have a child of my own.' '0, my dear 
friends!' she exclaimed more than once to others, 'I never dreamed 
how happy you were. I thought I knew, but I did not.' 

" Draxy 's spontaneous and unreserved joy of motherhood, while 



346 THE MOTHER-AETIST. 

yet her babe was unborn, was a novel and startling thing to the women 
among whom she lived. The false notions on this point, grown ont of 
ignorant and base thoughts, are too wide-spread, too firm-rooted, to 
be overthrown in an hour or a day, even by the presence of angelic 
truth incarnate. Some of Draxy's best friends were annoyed and 
disquieted by her frankness and unreserve of delight. But as the 
weeks went on, the true instinct of complete motherhood thrilled for 
the first time in many a mother's heart, under Draxy's glowing words, 
and women talked tearfully one with another, in secret, with lowered 
voices, about the new revelation which had come to them through her. 

" 'I've come to see it all quite different, since I've talked with 
Mis' Kinney,' said one young married woman, holding her baby close 
to her breast, and looking down with remorseful tenderness on its 
placid little face. 'I shan't never feel that I've quite made it up to 
Benjy, never, for the thoughts I had about him before he was born. 
I don't see why nobody ever told us before, that we was just as much 
mothers to 'em from the very first as we ever could be'; and tears 
dropped on Benjy 's face; 'an' I jest hope the Lord '11 send me's many 
more's we can manage to feed 'n clothe, 'n I'll see if lovin' 'em right 
along from the beginning, with all my heart, '11 make 'em beautiful an' 
happy an' strong an' well, 's Mis' Kinney says. I b'lieve it's much's 
ef 'twas in the Bible, after all she told me, and read me out of a 
Physiology, an' it stands to natur', which 's more'n the old way of 
talkin' did.' 

"This new strong current of the divinest of truths, stirred the 
very veins of the village. Mothers were more loving and fathers more 
tender, and maidens sweeter and graver— all for the coming of this 
one little babe into the bosom of full and inspired motherhood." 

The result, a child whose every physical, mental and moral trait 
was a continual delight to all who knew him, merely illustrates a truth 
greater than any fiction. There is no limit to a mother's power to 
influence the destiny and character of her child if she will begin in 
time. 






THE MOTHER-ARTIST. 347 

In the embryo the physical takes form first, then the brain areas 
that control mentality. Hence the first influences upon the coming 
child are chiefly physical. In the early months of pregnancy, a mother 
should pay special attention to hygiene, and to beautiful surround- 
ings. Not that the physical and mental activities of the mother can 
or should ever be wholly separated. That were a task at once im- 
practicable and undesirable. But in early pregnancy let the attention 
dwell strongly on everything which tends to suggest perfect physical 
health and beauty, because the prospective mother is now to enter 
upon a sweet and delightful work of molding the body, mind and soul 
of the darling one who is now all hers. 

Greek mothers, before the birth of their children, lived in rooms 
which were made beautiful in every manner the Grecian artistic taste 
could suggest. Beautiful statues were placed in the mother's room 
that her eyes might rest on them and her mind follow in the direction 
of her eyes. From her surroundings she was expected to assimilate 
ideas of strength and loveliness which would be transmitted to her 
children. Her physical and mental condition were regulated as wisely 
as 'possible. Her dwelling-place was illustrative of the ideas it was 
desired the child should have. 

Italian beauties, it has long been observed, conform to one type: 
that of Raphael's masterpiece, the Madonna. Copies of this painting 
are found on the walls of almost every Italian home, and are regarded 
with great affection and reverence by the people; which fact easily 
accounts for the many reproductions of these features in living works 
of art— the children— found even in the humblest homes of the 
peasants. 

Two sisters in our own country presented a great contrast; one. 
born on a Western ranch, was strong, practical, matter-of-fact, un- 
couth, with no artistic or decorative ability. The other, born twenty 
years later in a comfortable home surrounded by beautiful grounds, 
and furnished with many works of art, is herself an artist, refined, 
poetic, graceful. 



348 THE MOTHER-AKTIST. 

Prospective mothers, therefore, should carefully select their com- 
pany, their hooks, their thoughts and their ideals. All repulsive, 
hideous sights must be carefully avoided; they may result in mental 
impressions which deform the child. I do not need to emphasize a fact 
already so well known; and though I mention it to warn the careless, 
do not let it make you nervous and fearful. There is a stronger power 
than even these impressions, and that is 

THE POWER OF A TRAINED WILL. 

The expectant mother should know at the outset that by the right 
exercise of thought and will, she can control and counteract the results 
of undesirable sights and impressions. If she has been unexpectedly 
confronted by the sight of severed fingers, she can counteract the shock 
by the instant strong thought of a perfect hand. 

The mental and moral attributes should have attention during the 
whole period of pregnancy, but especially from the fourth month on. 

The acquiring impulse should be carefully directed. It may be 
cultivated by the practice of economy, by saving for some special 
purpose, or by entering into some actual business enterprise for a 
time. The thought of honesty must be kept strongly uppermost in it 
all; for what seems like a trifling advantage taken or deception prac- 
ticed at such a time has been quite enough to make the child a thief. 

The social nature must not be neglected. Too much retirement on 
the part of the mother often leads to an inborn tendency of the child 
to shrink from society, to manifest a cold, shy, super-sensitive nature 
from which he or she may suffer during the whole life. It is a great 
misfortune to have this tendency, and a naturally retiring prospective 
mother may well make some sacrifices of her own feelings and attend 
social gatherings occasionally in the later months of pregnancy; for 
then is the very time it will help the child most. 

TALENTS MUST BE EXERCISED. 

At this time, too, the reading and study should receive most careful 
attention. Eemember that the mother's superior culture in music, art, 



THE MOTHER-ARTIST. 349 

or any study, must be exercised during gestation, if it is to have any 
effect on the child. The mother's mind and talents should be kept 
especially and regularly active during the later months. 

THE KIND OF READING. 

Avoid trashy literature as you would avoid poison! "If the pub- 
lished accounts of fiendish crimes cause these crimes to become epi- 
demic among hundreds/ ' says Prof. Riddell, "how much more among 
the embryonic lives in the formative period! The reading should be 
the very best literature, varied, to cover art, science, commerce, law, 
government, philanthropy and religion. Try to impress the thoughts 
on the mind of the child, just as if reading to a friend. Have reading 
that creates an intense interest." 

"Highways of Literature, ' ' a little book by David Pryde, published 
by the Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York, will help greatly to a 
keen enjoyment and intelligent understanding of the best literature. 
It explains just how to acquire this taste and appreciation, and opens 
before the reader new avenues of delight. 

YOUR DARLING A LEADER. 

The reasoning and thinking faculties, judgment and originality 
may be greatly strengthened, in the little coming life, if the mother 
will make it a point to do her own thinking; to inquire into the causes 
of things, learn the facts, and then form an independent judgment 
concerning them. The reason we have so few leaders and so many 
who are led, incapable of deciding questions for themselves, is that 
mothers so often allow their own powers of judgment to lie dormant 
at this critical time. 

BRINGING GOOD CHEER. 

Mirthfulness, a sense of humor, or the power of seeing the sunny 
side of every subject, is an essential trait, and should be especially 
cultivated both because of its value to the child throughout life, and 



350 THE MOTHER- AKTIST. 

because the average prospective mother is inclined at times to be 
gloomy and depressed in spirits. She should remember that her con- 
dition is normal, that there is everything to hope for and rejoice in; 
and she should surround herself with jolly, happy, fun-loving people 
whose high spirits willl)e irresistible; she should never lose an oppor- 
tunity to laugh ; and if she will remember to make smiles the rule, she 
will be rewarded by seeing them reflected in a darling, dimple-cheeked 
child of joy. Surely it is worth the endeavor! 

SOUL-POWER! 

Make the religious life natural to a child. Some children have to 
be driven to church and Sunday School, others cannot be kept away. 
The difference is very largely in the pre-natal molding power of the 
mother's thought. The moral and religious nature of the unborn 
child, so plastic now, can be given any direction desired. Many are 
the striking illustrations of this truth; in the Bible, in history, in the 
church. Preachers of great devotion almost invariably are observed 
to strongly resemble their mothers. Martin Luther was one striking 
instance; Prof. George D. Herron says, "I may have been converted 
before I was born"; and Dr. Drummond expresses the opinion, "The 
Christian, like the poet, is born, not made. ' ' In observing what Chris- 
tian Endeavorers call the " quiet hour" daily, during this time, a 
mother can wield a power for her child's happiness that will be of 
untold good for ages to come. She should enter the silence, alone with 
an infinitely loving God; she should become restful, passive, as in the 
exercise for relaxation given in the chapter on "A Breath of Air"; 
then with long, deep, easy breaths, she should mentally picture the 
Holy Spirit as filling her being and that of the child with all pure, 
loving, holy purposes. But remember, no self-reproaches; no agoniz- 
ing petitions for what is already hers; no anxiety nor feeling of 
unworthiness. Just a restful, happy expectation. It will repay her 
a thousand-fold. She will not be disappointed! God listens to all 
such! 



THE MOTHER-AETIST. 353 

THE FATHER'S CONTINUAL HELP. 

Read once more the chapter on "The Gift of Motherhood,' ' for the 
same rules there given for pre-natal culture by both parents, apply 
also to the mother during gestation. The father can encourage and 
help her greatly even now; he can give her his sympathetic, thought- 
ful care and co-operation, and as far as possible provide the facilities 
for her best accomplishment of the task before her; but the work 
itself is now hers. When the parents have decided upon the occupa- 
tion they would like for the child, the mother may, by her thoughts, 
aided by the father, create exactly the atmosphere necessary to the 
realization of their plan. Whether a poet, artist, teacher, lawyer, 
merchant, doctor, mechanic, engineer, farmer, preacher,— whatever it 
may be, it is only necessary that the mother dwell as constantly as she 
can on the subject in view, meanwhile being surrounded by those 
things which keep her comfortable, serene and happy. 

ONE MOTHER'S EXPERIENCE. 

A mother relates her experience in character-molding, in the lan- 
guage ensuing : ' ' About a month before the birth of my first, thinking 
it about time for me to learn something about confinement, because 
unwilling to trust all the doctors, I got various books to mothers. I 
found not only what I wanted touching confinement, but also how I 
could shape the original character by self-culture before birth. Sorry 
I had not known this earlier, I determined to 'put my house in order' 
for next time, and see what I could do to improve subsequent ones. 
I had always wanted an eloquent son, and when I found myself likely 
to bear my second, gave myself up wholly to hearing orators, reading 
poetry and classical works, and listening to every good speaker in the 
pulpit and lecture room, at the bar and in the legislature, on the bench 
and political rostrum; which accounts for the speaking instincts of 
my second son. 

"While carrying my third, desiring a painter and artist, I visited, 

with a trained artist, the art studios of New York, Boston, Phila- 
20 v. 



354 THE MOTHER-ABTIST. 

delphia and other places, giving myself up wholly to the study and 
admiration of the fine arts; which accounts for the third son's artistic 
tastes and talents. While my fourth was coming forward, we were 
building our new country home. My husband was obliged to leave 
before it was completed. I had to be head mechanic, contrive this, that, 
and other mechanical matters, pay the men, look after the farm, econ- 
omize material and labor; see that farmers and workmen did not 
impose on us. Consequently this son has extraordinary ability as a 
business man." 

WHATEVER YOU WILL! 

A mother can thus give to her unborn child whatever she will. Can 
anything tempt one who realizes this truth to be indifferent to the 
limitless power bestowed upon her? And let it be remembered that 
in so occupying her thoughts as to transmit the desired gifts, her own 
mind is cheered and lifted far above any physical discomforts or 
tendency to worry and unhappiness. Life becomes a wonderland of 
treasures to be explored, to be freely taken and freely transmitted; 
and as the mental pictures of the mother-artist glow at last in living 
colors before her delighted gaze she will thank God she had the courage 
and devotion to accept the charge and complete her task aright. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
SIGNS AND PBOGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 

"Rational" Signs — Rapid Pulse — "Morning Sickness" — Changes in the Breasts — "Quick- 
ening" — Globules in the Urine — "Sensible" Signs — Pulsation of the Foetal Heart — 
Growth of the Embryo — Villi — How Placenta Acts as Lungs and Digestive Organs — 
The Umbilical Cord — Various Interesting Stages of Growth — The Last Two Months 
— The Mother's Time to Perfect the Child — Valuable Table of Dates of Confinement 
— Conception While Nursing — Miscarriage — Promptness Can Avert It — Miscarriage 
More Painful Than Natural Delivery — Requires Same Care as After Confinement — 
Guarding Against Tendency to Miscarry — Treatment After Once Miscarrying — Four 
Theories of Determining Sex — No Satisfactory or Final Test — The "Mental Domi- 
nance" Idea. 

THE determination of pregnancy at the earliest possible period 
forms one of the most frequent, difficult and important prob- 
lems in the practice of medicine. The physician will often be called 
upon to decide this question. For some to become pregnant is the 
realization of the highest ambition, while for others it is a dread. 

Signs of pregnancy are divided into two classes, "rational," and 
"sensible." The earliest ones observed are called "rational," and 
those appearing subsequently are termed "sensible," or "positive." 

GENERAL EFFECTS. 

The "rational" signs are derived from the circumstantial history 
of the woman. Among these may be classed the general effects ob- 
served in the female economy, such as a more rapid pulse and respi- 
ration; greater activity of the circulation of the blood; greater 
sensibility of the nervous system ; suspension of the menses or monthly 
flow, especially if she has been very regular before; and "morning 
sickness," which arises from sympathy of the solar plexus with the 
organic nervous system of the uterus. This morbid condition may 
not appear until the fifth or sixth week after conception, and cease at 
the third month. 

355 



356 



SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 



Some are so unfortunate as to be troubled with nausea through 
the entire period of nine months, unless alleviated with proper treat- 
ment. Most frequently, however, there is more trouble some mornings 

than others, and this sign usually disap- 
pears after two or three months. (See 
"Diseases of Pregnancy/') There are 
other derangements of the digestive or- 



gans, such as eructations, heart-burn, 




VESICLE IN OVUM. 

Loosely suspended floating vesicle 
c" in ovum of five or six weeks. 



longing for some particular article of 
food or drink, also aversions to some par- 
ticular kind of food. The abdomen, by 
its changes in size and form, furnishes 
one proof as the pregnancy advances. The umbilicus affords some in- 
dications of value. During the first two months the depression of 
the umbilicus is greater than usual owing to the descent of the uterus 
into the pelvis, and to its dragging down the fundus of the bladder. 



££*3?«Sto>> 



CHANGES IN THE BREASTS. 

About the end of the second month, the breasts become enlarged, 
and a change is perceptible about the nipple. It swells, becomes sensi- 
tive and projecting, its color is also deeper; and by the end of the 
fourth month a dark brown areola is seen to surround the nipple in 
every direction, for a distance of three- 
quarters of an inch from its base. In 
brunettes the color of the areola is deeper 
than in blondes. As pregnancy advances, 
especially if it be a first pregnancy, the 
areola themselves become moist, and little 
follicles studding their surface become 
prominent, distended and bedewed with 
transuded fluid. These follicles, or little 
glandules which appear near the base of vesicle in ovum. 

xi • t -n • ,-. t ,. . -. Vesicle at a in ovum of seven 

tne nipple withm the areola, attain an el- weekt. 




SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 



357 



evation of one or two lines above the surface of the skin. Each little 
gland has an excretory duct, and by pressing upon its base a little 
serous fluid is made to escape. Sometimes these glandules become 
very sore, when an application of Calendula will effect a speedy cure. 
These appearances of the mammary organs, occurring in regular 
order, when taken in connection with other "rational" signs, afford 
almost conclusive evidence of the existence of pregnancy. 

QUICKENING, 








where it can be distinctly recognized, becomes of course a conclusive 
evidence of pregnancy; but it can not be thus positively determined 

except in those 
whose previous 
experience leads 
them to interpret 
aright the sensa- 
tions which com- 
pose it. The term 
' ' quickening, ' ' as 
originally applied, 
was the period at 
which the foetus in 
utero first became possessed of its living principle, or was united to its 
physical soul, which was believed to be the cause of the changes and 
the unusual sensations experienced by the mother at that time. But 
let it be understood that from the moment of conception the embryo 
is a "living soul." 

By "quickening," therefore, we merely understand those sensa- 
tions which indicate the escape of the uterus from the pelvic region 
into the abdominal cavity. It is not the result, alone, as formerly 
supposed, of movements of the foetus itself, but of the intrusion of 
the uterus among the other organs of the abdomen, and of the removal 
of the pressure hitherto exerted by the uterus upon the large blood 



DECIDUOUS MEMBEANE. 

Smooth^ glossy face next 
the ovum. 



DECIDUOUS MEMBRANE. 

Flocculent surface in con 
tact with uterus. 



358 



SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 



vessels in the pelvis. The sudden intrusion of the volume of the 
uterus among the abdominal viscera (organs of high sensibility), 
accompanied by a sudden removal of pressure from the iliac vessels, 
is equal to the production of the sensation called "quickening." 

Quickening occurs in various periods in pregnancy in various 
women. It may occur as early as the tenth week, or it may not be 

observed till the six- 
^wlte^ teenth week, the eight- 




*/* 



& — - -Thm\ 



f _. 



0£ 







^ eenth, or the twentieth 

week. 

THE "RIE3TEINE." 

Changes in the urine 
are among the "ra- 
tional' ' signs of preg- 
nancy, and much val- 
uable labor has been 
spent in attempting to 
render the alterations 
of the urine useful as 
a rational sign of 
pregnancy. These 
changes consist briefly 
in the formation of a 
gelatino - albuminous 

Double membrane shown m uterus with ovum of seven 
weeks old. These two membranes separate at the placenta, product in the urine of 
and enclose it. 

pregnant females sub- 
sequent to the first month of gestation, which is separated from th^ 
other elements of that fluid by standing, to which is given the name of 
"Riesteine." This consists of certain globules held in suspension in 
the urine when secreted, which rise to the surface and there form a 
pellicle which resembles the thin scum of fatty substance covering soup 
as it cools. When thick, this pellicle is said to give off a strong cheesy 
odor e This pellicle makes its appearance on the second or third day's 




DECIDUOUS MEMBRANE. 



SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 



359 



standing, though it is sometimes not observed until the urine has stood 
eight days. The experiments of Dr. Rane and others prove that the 
Reisteine is not peculiar to pregnancy alone, but that it has special 
relation to lactation, either prospective or actually present; since it 
makes its appearance either where the milk is imperfectly withdrawn 
from the breasts, or in those 
cases in which, as in preg- 
nancy, nature is preparing 
for the further function of 
lactation. 

THE FOETAL HEART-BEAT, ETC. 

" Sensible " signs of preg- 
nancy are observed through 
the medium of touch and 
hearing. By the touch we 
examine the condition and 
position of the uterus and its 
relations to the adjacent 
parts, externally through the 
vagina, and if necessary 
through the rectum. By 
auscultation we ascertain the 
probable existence of preg- 
nancy from hearing at a little later period, the pulsations of the foetal 
heart. The term " touch' ' signifies the means whereby knowledge is 
Obtained of the condition of the woman. 




THE PLACENTA. 

Foetal face, next the embryo. This surface has a 
glistening appearance, with numerous dark ridges 
or vessels, the largest being veins, and the color of* 
the blood shining through. 



HOW THE EMBEYO IS NOURISHED. 

While passing through the Fallopian tube the ovum increases in 
size from one one hundred and twenty-fifth of an inch to one-fiftieth 
or one twenty-fifth of an inch by a process of yolk nutrition. As soon 
as the spermatozoa penetrate the outer membrane of the egg, the 
yolk contracts, leaving a space filled with a transparent fluid. In 



360 



SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 



contracting, the yolk begins a rotary movement and gradually breaks 
up into fine granular masses, which about six days after conception 
become united again by their adjacent edges, forming a continuous 
deposit of albumen called the chorion. This, on its outer surface, has 
a number of hollow, hair-like tubes called villi, projecting in all direc- 
tions and attaching themselves to the walls of the uterus. Through 

these hair-like tubes nour- 
ishment is drawn from the 
mucous membrane lining of 
the uterus, for the embryo 
in the first stages of its 
existence. It is transmitted 
from the tubes of the cho- 
rion to the embryo by an 
organ called the allantois; 
an organ which in time de- 
velops into the umbilical 
cord. 

The lining membrane of 
the uterus undergoes cer- 
tain changes after concep- 
tion, to prepare it for this 

Maternal face, in apposition to the uterus. 

This surface has a fleshy appearance, divided into nourishment of the embryo. 
irregularly shaped lobes. „. , „ . 

The placenta purines the blood of the foetus, and Glands Or iollicles m the 
also conveys nourishment to the foetus. t . 

membrane pour out a secre- 
tion that fills the cavity of the uterus; and in this secretion the 
embryo is embedded, deriving nutrition as described. 

In time, as the embryo grows, the villi diminish and finally disap- 
pear, except at the junction of the allantois with the chorion. Here 
they rapidly enlarge, and by the end of the second month form the 
placenta, the allantois becoming the umbilical cord. 

During the remainder of the intra-uterine life of the foetus, the 
placenta, by aid of the umbilical cord, performs the same work as do 




THE PLACENTA. 



SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 



361 



the lungs and digestive organs* after birth. It absorbs nourishment, 
replenishes the blood, and discharges waste matter. In form it is a 
nearly circular, soft, spongy mass, from six to eight inches in diameter, 
and one inch or more in thickness at the center, weighing about one 
pound, and having two flattened surfaces. One side adheres closely 
to some portion of the in- 
ner surface of the womb, 
having little absorbent ves- 
sels which extract oxygen 
and nutriment from the 
circulation of the mother. 
On the other side, towards 
the foetus, the vessels 
unite at the center in two 
arteries and one vein, 
which with their covering 
form the umbilical cord. 
Here, the vein carries the 
pure blood, and the arter- 
ies the impure. 

THE GROWTH OF THE 
EMBRYO 

is very rapid. By the four- 
teenth day it is large 
enough to be visible to the 
naked eye as a curved or 
oblong body. At the twen- 
ty-first day it resembles a 
lettuce-seed, and the rudiments of heart, brain and spinal column can 
be discerned. 

On the thirtieth day the embryo is the size of a horsefly, and re- 
sembles a worm bent together. When straightened it is nearly a half 




BATTLEDORE PLACENTA. 

(The navel string entering at or near the edge, in- 
stead of at the center.) This shape calls for special 
care in its removal at delivery. 



362 SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 

inch in length. No limbs have yet appeared, and the head is larger 
than the rest of the body. About the fifth week the head is greatly 
increased in size in proportion to the remainder of the body, and 
rudimentary eyes appear in the^form of two black spots turned towards 
the sides. The heart also acquires its external form at this time. 

In the seventh week, the embryo is about three-fourths of an inch 
in length. Rudimentary ribs appear, as narrow streaks on each side 
of the spinal column. The brain is enlarging, the eyes and ears de- 
veloping, the heart is perfecting in form, and the limbs are sprouting 

from the body. The 
ggfe^ lungs are tiny sacs, 

|§|sllk about one line in 
-.y%, length, the trachea 
f is a delicate thread, 
: ; 11 but the liver is very 
\'<^0jj large ; the renal cap- 
|||f sules and kidneys 
are formed ; and the 
sex organs are be- 
ing evolved. 

In the eightK 
twin placentas. week, the embryo is 

Separate placenta and separate funis or navel string for an inch long, Weighs 
each child in plural gestation. ., - .. , 

a drachm, and be- 
gins to show the division of fingers and toes; and growth continues. 

At two months, the eyes enlarge but are not covered with lids ; the 
nose is prominent but shapeless, with only the nostrils distinct; the 
external ear is formed; the mouth enlarges and is open; the brain is 
soft and pulpy, the neck well-defined and the heart fully developed. 
The embryo is nearly two inches long, weighs from three to five 
drachms, and the head forms more than one-third of the whole. 

By the end of three months, the eyelids are distinct, covering the 
eyes; the lips are drawn together; the forehead and nose clearly 




SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 



363 



shaped, the fingers and toes well defined, and the organs of sex very 
prominent. The heart beats forcibly, the larger vessels convey red 
blood, and the muscles begin to be developed. The embryo is now 
four or five inches long and weighs two to four ounces. 

The fourth month, and thereafter until birth, the embryo bears the 
name of foetus. It has now greatly expanded in all its parts. The 
muscles produce 
sensible motion, 
the skin has a 
rosy color ; the 
abdominal mus- 
cles are formed, 
and the intestines 
are no longer vis- 
ible. The foetus 
is from six to 
eight inches long, 
weighs from sev- 
en to eight 
ounces, and if 
born at this time, 
might live several 
hours. 

The fifth 
month, the lungs 
are more fully de- 
veloped, the skin and nails are being perfected, and the growth goes 
steadily on. Length, eight or ten inches; weight, ten to fourteen 
ounces. 

At six months, fine downy hair appears upon the head, eyebrows and 
eyelids; fat begins to be deposited; the length is nine to twelve inches, 
and the weight one pound. 

At seven months, the bony system is near completion ; all parts of 




OVUM OF FIVE MONTHS AGE. 

Showing the membranes enveloping the foetus. 



364 



SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 



the body have increased in volume and perfection ; the length is twelve 
to fourteen inches; weight, two and a half to three ponnds. This is 
believed to be the earliest period at which the child will live, if expelled 
from the womb. 

From this time on, the mother may do a great deal to assist nature 




UTERUS AT FIFTH MONTH. 

Back face of womb and anterior face of vagina at beginning of fifth montH. 

in the finishing touches of perfection. It is the completion of the most 
marvelous work known; and though the changes of the final two 
months are less marked than the previous ones, every part becomes 
more beautifully perfect, and fitted to bring joy to those who are to 
welcome the new being. 



SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 365 

At eight months the growth is rather in thickness than in length. 
The foetus is only sixteen to eighteen inches long, yet weighs four or 
five pounds. The skin becomes very red, downy and covered with 
sebaceous matter. The lower jaw, at first very short, now becomes 
as long as the upper one. 

Finally, at full term, the red blood circulates freely in the capil- 
laries, the nails are fully developed, and the skin performs its function 
of perspiration. The length is from nineteen to twenty-three inches, 
and weight from six to nine pounds. The healthy infant, born at full 
term, is firm and plump ; the skin is very pink, having been nourished 
by the purest oxygenated blood of the mother. 

NORMAL POSITION OF THE FOETUS. 

It lies curved within the bag of membranes, immersed in the liquid 
secreted in the inner one. The head is bent forward, the chin resting 
on the breast; the feet are bent upward in front of the legs; the legs 
flexed at the thighs ; the knees are apart, but heels close together ; the 
arms folded across the chest. In this position, the child forms an oval 
about eleven inches in diameter. 

HOW TO RECKON THE TIME. 

The period of gestation is usually two hundred and eighty days- 
forty weeks— ten lunar, or nine calendar months. As a woman is 
more likely to conceive a few days after menstruation ceases than at 
any other time, it is well to make the estimate beginning three days 
after the last day of the menstrual flow. The importance of making a 
note of the last day of the period, each month, thus becomes evident. 
It may save much inconvenience and uncertainty. 

The following is the plan I would recommend: Let forty weeks 
and three days from the time above specified be marked on a calendar, 
and the calculation will seldom be found far out of the way. Suppose, 
for instance, the last day of the menses was February 26th, the patient 
may expect confinement on or about December 6th. Every lady can 
make her own estimate by this rule ; yet as a convenience, I will include 



366 



SIGNS AND PEOGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 



a table arranged on the above basis, showing the probable beginning, 
duration and completion of pregnancy, indicating the date on or about 
which confinement is likely to occur: 



A PBEGNANCY TABLE. 



Last Day 


Labor 




Last Day 


Labor 


of the Period 


on or about 


of the Period 


on or about 


Jan. 1 to 10 


Oct. 


11 


to 


20 


July 


1 to 10 


Apr. 


10 to 19 


11 to 21 




21 


to 


31 




11 to 21 




20 to 30 


22 to 31 


Nov. 


1 


to 


10 




22 to 31 


May 


1 to 10 


Feb. 1 to 10 




11 


to 


20 


Aug. 


1 to 10 




11 to 20 


11 to 20 




21 


to 


30 




11 to 21 




21 to 31 


21 to 28 


Dec. 


1 


to 


8 




22 to 31 


June 


1 to 10 


Meh. 1 to 12 




9 


to 


20 


Sept. 


1 to 10 




11 to 20 


13 to 23 




21 


to 


31 




11 to 20 




21 to 30 


24 to 31 
Apr. 1 to 10 

11 to 20 


Jan. 


1 

9 

19 


to 
to 

to 


8 
18 

28 


Oct. 


21 to 30 
1 to 10 


July 


1 to 10 
11 to 20 


21 to 23 




29 


to 


31 




11 to 21 




21 to 31 


24 to 30 


Feb. 


1 


to 


7 




22 to 31 


Aug. 


1 to 10 


May 1 to 10 




8 


to 


17 


Nov. 


1 to 10 




11 to 20 


11 to 21 




18 


to 


28 




11 to 21 




21 to 31 


22 to 31 


Mch. 


1 


to 


10 




22 to 30 


Sept. 


1 to 9 


June 1 to 10 




11 


to 


20 


Dec. 


1 to 10 




10 to 19 


11 to 21 




21 


to 


31 




11 to 21 




20 to 30 


22 to 30 


Apr. 


1 


to 


9 




22 to 31 


Oct. 


1 to 10 



It will be seen that if the last day of the period was January 1, 
labor should be expected on or about October 11. Hence it is easily seen 
that if the last day of the period was January 4, it would carry the labor 
to October 14. Another illustration: as May 1 (period) will indicate 
February 8 for labor, then 5 days later, May 6, will call for 5 days later 
for labor, or February 13. By advancing as many days in one column 
as-you advance in the other, the required date for labor can be readily 
found for every day in the year. 

This pregnancy table may, as a rule, be safely relied upon. Many 
of my patients have for years, on these estimates, been confined on 
the very day specified. But there are exceptional cases where a woman 
is at her full time as early as the thirty-seventh week; while others, 
although very rarely, have been known to go until the forty-fifth week. 
Hence there must be some uncertainty in such cases. It is utterly 
impossible to fix upon the exact day, and we must be content with the 
nearest practicable approach to it. 



SIGNS AND PEOGRESS OF PEEGNANCY. 



367 



A woman may sometimes become pregnant while nursing; and not 
having her menstrual periods at such a time, does not know how to 
count. In that case she should reckon from the time of quickening as 
a starting point, counting ahead one hundred and fifty-six days. As 
quickening varies in time, however, in different individuals, it must 




AN OVUM OF FIVE MONTHS WITHIN THE UTERUS; PORTIONS 

OF DECIDUOUS MEMBRANE ARE ATTACHED 

TO THE CHORION. 



be borne in mind that an estimate on this basis can never be regarded 
#s so reliable as that based on the menstrual periods. 

Occasionally, too, a wrong estimate may result from a slight dis- 
charge occurring early in pregnancy, which is mistaken for menstrua- 
tion. Such a discharge ought not to be reckoned in the count ; the esti- 
mate should be made, instead, from the last normal period. 



368 



SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 



MISCARRIAGE. 



The premature expulsion of the contents of the impregnated womb, 
is always a disaster, and the results are usually more trying to the 
system than a natural delivery. If extreme care is not taken to insure 
perfect recovery, serious and lasting womb disease is the result. 

Among the most 
common general 
causes of miscarriage 
are, deficient vitality 
of the expectant moth- 
er; sexual indulgence 
during gestation; and 
any severe shock, ex- 
posure or great fa- 
tigue. When a wo- 
man's system has not 
sufficient strength to 
nourish the embryo, 
and her generative or- 
gans are not healthful 
enough to shield and 
protect it, the life- 
germ is often lost 
through sheer inabil- 
ity to retain and de- 
velop it. Or when the 
sexual indulgence has been excessive, the germs in both male and fe- 
male become themselves so deteriorated as to lack vitality enough to 
live and grow. As it is claimed that eight out of every ten wives 
miscarry at some time or other, and as it can generally be avoided, it 
will be seen that the pregnant woman should guard against a first 
miscarriage, for the first one renders others more probable. 




NATURAL POSITION OF THE FOETUS WITHIN THE 
UTERUS, WHEN READY FOR LABOR. 



SIGNS AND PEOGEESS OF PREGNANCY. 371 

Unusual exertion, over-fatigue, violent emotion, any severe shock 
to the nervous system such as a fall, a jar, or having a tooth extracted ; 
exposure to extremes of weather, great worry or privation, prolonged 
constipation or diarrhea, or an acute attack of fever, are all causes 
that may produce separation of the embryo from its surroundings and 
its consequent death and expulsion. Women who become pregnant 
while nursing are apt to miscarry, their systems not being equal to 
the double strain. 

The most usual time for miscarriage to occur, is from the eighth 
to the twelfth week; though it may occur at other times. A miscar- 
riage before the fourth month is attended with little danger at the 
time, but if neglected, may permanently injure the health. 

SYMPTOMS OF MISCARRIAGE. 

The first indications are usually a feeling of great lassitude and 
depression of spirits, with backache and uneasiness about the loins, 
hips and thighs, the feeling being similar to that of painful menstrua- 
tion. At this stage, if proper measures are taken, the threatened mis- 
carriage can almost to a certainty be averted. If neglected, however, 
after a day or two there will be a slight show of blood. This soon 
increases to flooding, and becomes clotted. Even at this stage the 
miscarriage can sometimes, though not always, be warded off. When 
allowed to proceed, the final symptoms are labor pains ; and the patient 
is now sure to miscarry. 

A miscarriage is always attended by flooding and by pain. It some- 
times lasts but five or six days ; at other times continues two, and even 
three weeks. The pain is more severe and exhausting than in natural 
delivery. 

TREATMENT. 

At the first symptoms, the patient should immediately confine her- 
self to the bed, and keep perfectly quiet. A hair mattress is safer than 
a feather bed, which enervates and predisposes to miscarriage; an<? 

21 V. 



372 SIGNS AND PKOGKESS OF PREGNANCY. 

the bed should be a separate one. No sexual intercourse must be per- 
mitted; this is most important. 

A light diet should be adopted, such as arrowroot, sago, tapioca, 
gruel, chicken broth, tea, toast and water and lemonade. All drinks 
should be cold. Grapes are cooling and refreshing. The room should 
be kept cool and well ventilated. Avoid all laxative medicines. In- 
ternally, take iron. (See Index.) If the flooding is violent, the 
external application of cold compresses may help to check it. If this 
is not effectual, one teaspoonful of powdered golden seal in one gallon 
of hot water may be used as an injection in the vagina. 

TREATMENT AFTER MISCARRIAGE. 

If the miscarriage cannot be averted, the same care should be 
exercised following it as after a confinement. The patient should 
keep her bed for several days at least; and care must be taken to 
ascertain that every portion of the contents of the womb has been 
expelled. Any retained portion will lead to inflammation and septic 
poisoning. The hot sitz bath and footbath should be used at least twice 
a day until the womb shall be empty; or by hot applications to feet 
and abdomen, hot drinks and warm coverings to induce free perspira- 
tion, the system may be relaxed, allowing all poisonous matter to be 
eliminated. The patient under this treatment must not become chilled. 
All stimulants must be avoided, and the diet should be the same as 
after confinement. 

PREVENTION OF MISCARRIAGE. 

Hygienic living before and after conception, together with strict 
continence during pregnancy, will generally do away with the tendency 
to miscarry. A patient with such a tendency, or one troubled with 
sterility, ought to brace and strengthen the system in every possible 
way. Camping out for a whole summer in the woods has been known 
to succeed in bringing about conception, when the patient has seemed 
almost hopelessly sterile. For such and for those liable to miscarry, 
the best course is to go away from the husband for several months, to 



SIGNS AND PEOGEESS OF PEEGNANCY. 373 

some quiet, healthful place, keep early hours, take cold baths, gentle 
exencise and frequent rest ; have the diet light but nourishing ; sleep on 
a hair mattress, with slight covering ; and breathe plenty of fresh air. 
When a woman has once miscarried, she ought not to become preg- 
nant again for at least two years. Then, when conception has again 
taken place, she should be more than usually careful, especially as 
the time approaches at which miscarriage previously occurred. If 
she can pass that time, she is generally safe. She should have a sepa- 
rate sleeping apartment from her husband; and see that it and the 
living room are cool and well ventilated; she should lie down the 
greater part of every day; avoid all stimulants, fashionable society 
and exciting amusements, keep the mind calm, the diet simple and 
nourishing; if there is constipation, let the bowels be opened not by 
laxative medicines but by enemas of warm water and by suppositories 
mentioned elsewhere in the book; and if there are the slightest symp- 
toms of approaching miscarriage summon a physician at once, and it 
may be warded off. 

DETERMINING SEX IN GENERATION. 

Various theories have been advanced concerning the exact deter- 
mining cause of sex. Several of these beliefs which have attracted 
most attention are as follows: 

1.— That the sex of the older and stronger parent will be trans- 
mitted. 

2.— That if the impregnation takes place immediately or very soon 
after menstruation, the child will be a female ; but if not til] some days 
later, the child will be a male. Stock-breeders depend on a similar 
theory in the breeding of animals. 

3.— That if the wife is in a higher state of sexual vigor and excite- 
ment at the time of coition, boys will be conceived ; if the reverse, girls 
will be the result. This almost flatly contradicts the second theory, 
as a woman's sexual vigor is at its highest immediately after men- 
struation. 



374 SIGNS AND PROGRESS OF PREGNANCY. 

4.— The assertion of Dr. Sixt, a German physician, that the male 
principle proceeds from the right testicle and right ovary; the female, 
from the left. He claims that experiments made upon animals prove 
his theory; that whenever the left testicle is removed, the animal be- 
gets males only, and when the right one is wanting, females. But the 
rule does not hold good, as it appears, in the human species. A man 
deprived of one testicle has been known to become the father of chil- 
dren of both sexes ; and a woman who has lost one ovary has conceived 
and brought forth both sons and daughters. 

Experience, therefore, does not justify me in pronouncing any of 
the above theories infallible. How, then, shall the question be deter- 
mined ? 

In advancing pregnancy, the sex of the foetus can usually be ascer- 
tained by the skilled physician by means of the foetal heart-beat; the 
pulsations being more rapid in the female than in the male. But as to 
what causes it, and how it can be regulated at will, there is not as yet 
any satisfactory and final test. Let it be remembered, however, that 
sex is mental; it is of the soul. The probabilities are strong that, 
other things being equal, the parent whose mental forces are the more 
active and vigorous previous to, and at the time of conception, will 
control the sex of fne child. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

DISCOMFORTS OF PREGNANCY; HOW OVERCOME. 

Conception Should Bring Greater Health and Vigor — Errors Cause the Discomforts — 
Morning Nausea Indicates Nervous Sympathy — A Favorable Sign — Acidity of 
Stomach — Intestinal Indigestion — Sick Headaches — Hand Magnetism for Neuralgia — 
Tooth Troubles — The Abdominal Belt — The Elastic Stocking — Diarrhea — Piles — Con- 
stipation — Tonic for Fainting — Simple Treatments for Insomnia — Abnormal Food 
Cravings — Breasts and Nipples — Bladder Symptoms — Leucorrhea — Lotion for Irrita- 
tion — Differences Between False and True Labor Pains — The Husband's Duty and 
Privilege — Innocent Conspiracies — Start Pleasant Trains of Thought — Few of These 
Discomforts for Any One Woman — Determines for Herself — The Gates of Woman's 
Paradise. 

NATUBE'S laws for the reproduction of the human race, if 
obeyed, would so prepare the constitution that this function 
would bring with it little or no suffering; nor would there be any 
cause to fear the after results. If the best efforts are put forth to 
secure health for mother and child, there is no reason why every nor- 
mal woman should not be stronger and more beautiful after passing 
through pregnancy and labor than before. 

Nearly all women, at the beginning of pregnancy, experience 
changes from their former condition of health. Some feel at once 
more buoyant and cheerful, and increase in health and vigor. This 
is as it should be. God never intended that pregnancy should be a 
source of disease. But owing to ignorance, false customs, previously 
acquired diseases of the womb, lack of strong constitution or of the 
right training in girlhood, many more women suffer throughout the 
entire period. For the sake of helping these, I give a brief account of 
the discomforts most prevalent, and the safe, simple treatment neces- 
sary to alleviate them. 

MORNING SICKNESS. 

This may be distinguished from the sickness of a disordered 
stomach by the hour of its appearance. It occurs only in the early 

375 



376 DISCOMFOETS OF PEEGNANCY. 

morning; the patient, on first sitting up in bed, feels nausea, and 
sometimes vomits a little sour, watery, glairy fluid. Occasionally, if 
she has eaten heartily the night before, the contents of the stomach 
are ejected. She then feels all right again, eats her breakfast with 
her usual relish, and is quite free from sickness for the rest of the 
day. Many women have better appetites during pregnancy than at 
any other time. 

A good way to relieve morning sickness is to take, before rising, 
a cup of hot water. If this proves not sufficient take a lump of 
magnesia the size of a hickory nut. 

The cause of this symptom, during the early months, is nervous 
sympathy between the stomach and the womb. As this cannot be 
prevented, it is not always possible to remove the nausea entirely. 
Generally the trouble disappears after quickening, and it is in no case 
an unfavorable sign, but considered rather a favorable one, provided 
there is no real disorder of the stomach itself. The bowels should 
be kept well regulated, and a moderate, simple diet adopted. Avoid 
rich dishes, melted butter, and highly seasoned soups. Hearty meat 
suppers should on no account be indulged in. If anything is taken at 
night, let it be a cup of well-cooked oatmeal gruel, or arrowroot, with 
plenty of fruit. 

HEARTBURN. 

A form of indigestion most common is acidity of the stomach, caus- 
ing the distressing sensation known as heartburn. Avoid starchy 
foods, fats, meats and gravies ; take the meals entirely without drink- 
ing; and often the gastric juice may be stimulated and the trouble 
relieved by eating a piece of burnt toast, or a little powdered charcoal. 
If the attack is severe, drink copiously of warm water to induce vomit- 
ing, abstain from food until the next day, and eat sparingly until the 
stomach has recovered its tone* 

FLATULENCE, 

or gas in the stomach or bowels, is a failure of intestinal digestion, 
usually caused by lack of sufficient walking exercise, by eating heartily 



DISCOMFOETS OF PREGNANCY. 377 

just before retiring, or by certain articles of food. Beans, sweet 
potatoes, and cabbage are inclined to cause it; so are cornmeal, oat- 
meal and rolled wheat when not thoroughly cooked. Omit these foods 
from the diet, take regular, frequent walks of moderate length; eat 
more fruit, drink hot water, and it will often be of benefit to use a 
warm water enema. 

WATER-BRASH, 

or excessive secretion of saliva, is only another form of indigestion. 
It rarely troubles one who lives plainly. Holding in the mouth very 
hot or very cold water, or small pieces of ice, will give temporary 
relief. Drinking hot water is good. Eating a few almonds or a peach 
kernel after a meal often proves of benefit. 

HEADACHE. 

When caused by uterine irritation, there is almost constant burn- 
ing pain at the base of the brain or top of the head, with great sore- 
ness; sometimes the sight is affected, or the memory; the pain in- 
creasing towards night. It is relieved by lying down. Apply hot 
fomentations to the back of the head, and take warm sitz baths daily. 

Sick headache is also common in pregnancy. In this, the pain is 
in the forehead and temples, with nausea, vomiting, cold feet and 
hands, and great prostration. It is caused by indigestion, biliousness, 
constipation; fatigue, mental excitement, worry, etc. One fruitful 
cause is the tea-drinking habit. One person subject for many years to 
frequent and severe sick headaches believed to be hereditary, was 
entirely cured by the giving up of tea. Another was cured by giving 
up butter and other fats, substituting honey, fruit juice or milk. As 
Dr. Stockham says, the very worst sick headaches can be cured by 
temperate living. Copious draughts of hot water, hot lemonade or salt 
and water sometimes give relief; as do hot applications to the feet 
and hot fomentations to the stomach. An enema of three quarts of 
hot water and two tablespoonfuls of salt seldom fails to ward off an 
attack if taken in time. Be sure that the clothing worn is not too tight. 



378 DISCOMFORTS OF PREGNANCY. 

Turn to the chapter on " Influence of Dress' ' and read carefully what 
it says on the subject of the Maternity Dress. Comfort and duty alike 
demand this. 

NEURALGIA. 

Too much of the carbonaceous, and too little of the phosphates and 
other saline elements in the food, is a common cause of this very 
distressing trouble. Another cause is lack of oxygen; another, ex- 
hausted and weakened nerves through incontinence, anxiety or over- 
work. Rest, fresh air, and correct food will work wonders. To relieve 
the paroxysms of neuralgic pain, hot water applications are helpful. 
A thermal or full hot water bath may be taken ; hot bricks wrapped in 
wet cloths placed to the face; and the hands, feet and spine rubbed 
briskly by some thoroughly magnetic friend or member of the family. 
Hand magnetism is one of the best treatments for neuralgia. 

TOOTHACHE. 

No matter how severe the pain from toothache, it is never safe to 
have a tooth extracted during pregnancy. Such a course has often 
led to miscarriage or premature labor. The hot water bag will often 
give relief. If the tooth be decayed, fill the hollow part with absorbent 
cotton first soaked in oil of cloves, or in equal parts of oil of clovesi 
and chloroform; or ten grains of alum to a half ounce of chloroform. 
Often a small ball of cotton soaked in chloroform and inserted in the 
ear on the affected side will give great relief. It should be allowed 
to remain, and renewed from time to time, until the pain is gone. I 
cannot endorse the common practice of applying creosote to an aching 
tooth; it is often very injurious, and has been known to decay the 
whole set of teeth when thus used. (See Index for Toothache.) 

MUSCULAR PAINS OF ABDOMEN. 

If these are troublesome, it is best to procure an abdominal belt; 
one of those especially constructed for pregnancy, adjusted to fit the 
abdomen, with straps aud buckles to accommodate its gradually in- 
creasing size. 



DISCOMFOETS OF PREGNANCY, 379 

STRETCHING OF THE SKIN OF THE ABDOMEN 

often causes soreness, especially in a first pregnancy. Bub the bowels 
every night and morning with warm olive oil. If the skin should 
become cracked, it is well to dress it night and morning with equal 
parts of simple cerate and olive oil, well mixed and spread on lint. 

SWOLLEN LEGS. (VARICOSE VEINS.) 

Owing to the pressure of the womb on the blood-vessels, the veins 
are often distended, causing the limbs to be swollen and painful. It 
is best in such cases to wear an elastic silk stocking, made especially 
to fit. It can be drawn on like a common stocking. A gauze stocking 
should be put on first and the elastic stocking over it; as the gauze 
one can be washed and is also more comfortable next the skin. If the 
elastic stocking cannot be had, a flannel or gauze bandage will some- 
times answer the purpose. For further treatment see the chapter on 
"General Diseases.' ' 

DIARRHEA. 

This is not nearly so common in pregnancy as is constipation; but 
it will sometimes result from constipation, where nature is trying to 
effect a reaction. If this be the case, it is well to be careful about 
using astringents, as they would interfere with the needed relaxa- 
tion. A teaspoonful of olive oil swimming on a little new milk is 
good; or a tablespoonful of tincture of rhubarb, in two of water. 
Adopt temporarily a diet consisting of beef tea, chicken broth, arrow- 
root, and well-cooked oatmeal gruel. Avoid meat and stimulants of all 
kinds. If the diarrhea be accompanied by pain in the bowels, apply 
either a hot water bag, or a flannel bag filled with hot table salt. As 
soon as the diarrhea has disappeared, the patient should return to 
her usual diet, which should be plain^ but nourishing; be particular 
to keep the feet warm and dry; and as long as there is any tendency 
to return of the trouble, wear around the bowels, next the skin, a 
broad flannel band 



380 DISCOMFORTS OF PREGNANCY. 

PILES 

often appear in pregnancy. They are enlarged veins taking the form 
of spongy, dark red tumors about the size of a bean, a cherry or a 
walnut. Appearing either within or around the fundament, they are 
called according to the location, either external or internal piles; and 
they may be either blind or bleeding. If the latter, blood will exude 
every time the patient has a movement of the bowels; and for that 
reason she should be as quick as possible in relieving the bowels, and 
should not sit at such times a moment longer than necessary. 

In cases where the piles are very large, they sometimes, especially 
during a movement, drag down a portion of the bowel, which greatly 
increases the suffering. If this occurs, the protruding bowel ought to 
be immediately and carefully returned with the index finger, taking 
care, in order that it may not scratch the bowel, that the nail is closely 
trimmed. 

The patient ought to lie down frequently during the day, and will 
derive great comfort from sitting on an air cushion placed in a chair. 
She should live on a plain, nourishing, simple diet, avoiding all stimu- 
lants. Any food or beverage which will inflame the blood will also 
inflame the piles. The bowels should be kept gently and regularly 
opened. For further treatment, see Index for Pile-Cure. 

CONSTIPATION. 

This is so common, not only in pregnancy, but with many not preg- 
nant, that it is estimated that fully nine-tenths of the American women 
and one-half of the men are afflicted with it. In pregnancy it should not 
be allowed for a single day; for the waste matter thus retained in the 
system acts as a poison throughout the blood, and does great harm. 

The chief causes of constipation are errors in diet and dress, the 
lack of exercise, lack of care in establishing regular habits, and the 
use of cathartic drugs. This subject is fully treated in the chapter 
on "General Diseases.' ' (See Index for Constipation.) 



DISCOMFORTS OF PBEGNANCY. 381 

CRAMPS. 

When these occur in the legs and thighs, they are occasioned by 
pressure of the growing uterus on the sciatic nerves ; or by improper 
clothing. Temporary relief may be obtained by lying flat on the back 
with the head low, and hips slightly raised; applying hand friction to 
the limbs and back. The clothing must be worn perfectly loose; and 
deep breathing exercises, by expanding the ribs and the walls of the 
abdomen will tend to give more room, and thus permanently relieve 
the pressure. If the cramps attack the bowels or back, let a hot water 
bottle or bag of hot salt be applied to the part affected, and another, or 
a hot brick encased in flannel, be placed to the soles of the feet. 

FAINTING. 

There is great pressure upon the nerves and blood vessels at preg- 
nancy; enormous changes are taking place; and it is not surprising 
that a delicate woman should at this time frequently feel faint, or 
even occasionally faint away. Fainting is not dangerous, unless there 
is heart disease. 

Lay the patient flat on her back, loosen the clothing, open the win- 
dows wide ; sprinkle water on her face, and hold aqua ammonia to her 
nostrils. Do not let people crowd around her, as she must have access 
to the fresh air. This will soon revive her. In the intervals she must 
live on a light, nutritious diet, keep early hours, and sleep in a well- 
ventilated room. The following strengthening tonic will be found 
serviceable : 

Tinct, of Peruvian Bark, 6 to 10 drops 

Tinct. of Nux Vomica, 2 drops 

Mix in full glass of water. Dose, two teaspoonfuls three 
times a day. Continue ten days. 

PALPITATION OF THE HEART. 

This trouble in pregnancy is more likely to affect nervous women, 
and is generally worse at night when the patient is lying down. It is 



382 DISCOMFOBTS OF PREGNANCY. 

caused by the pressure of the womb on the large blood-vessels, which 
temporarily disturbs the heart's action. 

Immediate relief may be obtained by wringing a small towel out of 
very hot water, and placing it over the heart, covered by a dry towel to 
protect the clothing. For further treatment, see "General Diseases." 

SLEEPLESSNESS. 

This is very common among pregnant women of nervous tempera- 
ment. It is produced by the slightest mental excitement, by lack of 
fresh air and exercise, or by the motions of the child, or by eating, or 
indulging in tea or coffee, just before retiring. 

It is best to sleep on a hair mattress, in a well-ventilated room; 
not to overload the bed with covering; to take a thorough bath every 
morning; and at night to wash the face, neck, arms, hands and chest 
with cold water. Avoid hot, close rooms, take plenty of outdoor exer- 
cise and have the diet simple and nourishing, with no rich food nor 
meat suppers; make the evening meal of a single cup of arrowroot 
boited in milk, or well-boiled oatmeal gruel ; avoid all stimulants. Sub- 
stitute socoa or hot milk for tea or coffee. 

Eelief may often be obtained, when an attack of wakefulness oc- 
curs, by such simple means as taking a short walk up and down the 
room; drinking a half -glass of water; emptying the bladder; turning 
over the pillow so as to have the cold side next the head ; and straight- 
ening the bedclothes before lying down again. Usually the patient will 
now fall into a refreshing sleep. 

In addition to the daily walks, a little housework during the day, or 
some other occupation for mind and hands, is desirable. It is the 
idlers who suffer most. 

LACK OP APPETITE. 

In many cases the prospective mother feels a disinclination to eat, 
and her friends are often needlessly worried by this symptom. If she 
is not constipated nor suffering from nausea, the loss of appetite is 
merely one of the temporary conditions that arise, and after a short 






DISCOMFOETS OF PEEGNANCY. 383 

fast the desire to eat usually returns. If in the meantime there is 
faintness, a cup of coffee or gruel will relieve it, but 

NEVER FORCE THE APPETITE. 

It is a mistake to suppose that the pregnant woman must ' ' eat for 
two." Nutrition of the child depends on the healtli of the mother; 
on the amount of oxygen in the blood, rather than on the quantity of 
food swallowed. 

EXCESSIVE APPETITE. 

Caution must be used not to yield to the cravings of an appetite 
which calls for more food than the digestive system can properly use. 
Many pregnant women feel an almost continual sensation of hunger, 
and consequently take large quantities of food in the vain attempt to 
appease the craving. The result is always unfortunate. The overtaxing 
of the digestive powers weakens them, the surplus matter appears in 
the form of eruptions, indigestion, and worst of all, the child grows to 
be an abnormal size under the stuffing process, which thus paves the 
way to a most agonizing delivery, frequently costing the life of the 
child. 

The morbid appetite must be overcome. 

By adhering to a natural, healthful diet, the system is fully nour- 
ished, and the will must be exercised to avoid overfeeding. When the 
sense of hunger continues after a reasonable meal, or manifests itself 
between meals, it is well, therefore, to drink a glass of water or lemon- 
ade, take a walk, call on a friend, or in some way divert the mind to 
some useful, interesting employment and away from appetite. It can 
be done, and it is necessary. Keep away from the odor of food; be 
much out of doors; let fruits and vegetables be the mainstay, and on 
no account eat between meals. 

LONGINGS. 

The intense desire, during pregnancy, for particular articles of 
food, or for other things, aside from food, come under the head of 
" longings.' ' It is often the case that they are such as may be gratified 



384 DISCOMFOBTS OF PREGNANCY. 

without harm, and these should be whenever possible; but sometimes 
they are truly absurd. It is better as a rule, to divert the mind from 
them by interesting occupation, and especially by active plans for the 
little coming life. 

HARDENING THE NIPPLES. 

It is so often the case that a mother sutlers severely with sore nip- 
ples, especially with her first child, that it is wise to provide against 
this by care in advance. If for six or eight weeks before confinement 
she will bathe the nipples for five minutes every night and morning 
either with marigold ointment or with equal parts of brandy and 
water, it will tend to harden them, and prevent the soreness. Use a 
piece of soft, pure, old linen for the purpose, and keep the nipples cov- 
ered with soft linen to avoid the irritating friction of a flannel vest. All 
pressure must be removed, and the clothing worn so loose as to avoid 
chafing them. 

SWOLLEN BREASTS. 

At times, during pregnancy, the breasts are much swollen and so 
painful as to cause apprehension ; but there is no danger. The swelling 
and pain are merely an indication of the changes taking place in prep- 
aration for the secretion of the milk. 

Eub the breasts every night and morning with equal parts of eau de 
Cologne and olive oil and wear a piece of new flannel over them, remem- 
bering to cover the nipples with soft linen. If a little milky fluid oozes 
out of the nipples as a result of the bathing, it will afford relief. 

IRRITABILITY OF THE BLADDER. 

Sometimes this organ is sluggish during pregnancy, with little in- 
clination to urinate ; at other times there is great irritability and con- 
stant desire to pass urine ; while in some cases, more especially toward 
the end of pregnancy the urine can hardly be retained— the slightest 
exertion, such as walking, stooping, coughing, sneezing, etc., causes it 
to pass involuntarily, and sometimes it even does so when the patient is 
perfectly quiet. 



DISCOMFOETS OF PBEGNANCY. 385 

For the sluggishness, the patient should take gentle exercise and 
attempt to pass the urine at least every four hours. For the irritabil- 
ity, the diet should be bland and nourishing and the bowels kept gently 
open. For further treatment, see Index for "Diseases of Bladder." 

U5UCORRHEA, OR WHITES. 

This is more troublesome during the latter months, and when the 
patient has borne many children. It is owing to the pressure of the 
womb on the parts below, causing irritation. Bathe the parts, outside, 
with a teaspoonful of powdered borax in a quart of warm water ; and 
syringe the internal parts with the same, night and morning. Eetire 
early, sleep on a hair mattress in a well-ventilated room, and use porous 
bedcoverings such as blankets or eider down comfortables rather than 
thick, heavy quilts. The objection to the latter is that the perspiration 
cannot readily pass through it. (See "Diseases of Women.") 

PRURITIS, OR ITCHING OF EXTERNAL PARTS. 

Troublesome as this affection is, especially during the latter months, 
the patient often hesitates, through delicacy, to consult a physician 
concerning it, and it sometimes is almost past endurance. 

Keep the diet simple and nourishing, avoiding stimulants of all 
kinds. Take frequent tepid salt and water sitz baths; using a large 
handful of salt with cold water to the depth of three or four inches and 
hot water enough added to make the temperature lukewarm. Eemain 
in the bath only a few seconds. These salt and water sitz baths are a 
great comfort and benefit. 

The following lotion may be applied if the itching continues : 

Powdered chlorate of potash in the proportion of a tea- 
spoonful to a quart of hot water. Bathe frequently and 
when lying down apply a compress of the same. 

THRUSH. 

Sometimes the external parts and the passage to the womb (the 
vagina) are not only irritable and itching but hot and inflamed, and 



386 DISCOMFOETS OF PREGNANCY. 

covered with a whitish exudation similar to the " thrush' ' on the mouth 
of an infant. 

Use as an injection, one teaspoonful of powdered boracic acid to 
a quart of hot water. Or prepare the following: Dried oak bark, a 
half pound; six quarts of water; boil down to one gallon, strain, re- 
duce one-half with hot water and use as an injection with a fountain 
syringe. 

FALSE LABOR PAINS. 

These are most apt to be troublesome in a first pregnancy. They 
usually come on at night, and are often the result of a disordered stom- 
ach. They attack first one place, then another; the abdomen, back, 
loins, and occasionally the hips and thighs. Coming at irregular inter- 
vals, at one time severe, at another slight, they often alarm an inexpe- 
rienced patient, and as they are usually most violent two or three weeks 
before confinement, they are often mistaken for true labor pains, and 
the doctor summoned when he cannot, in fact, be of the least assistance. 

To distinguish false pains from true pains, the following differences 
may be noted : False labor pains come on three or four weeks before 
the full time ; labor pains at the completion of the full time ; false pains 
are unattended by any discharge or "show" as it is called; true pains 
generally commence the labor with "show"; false pains usually change 
from place to place, first attacking the loins, then the hips, then the 
lower portions, etc. ; true pains generally begin in the back ; false pains 
begin as spasmodic pains; true pains as grinding pains; false pains 
come on at irregular intervals, from a quarter of an hour to an hour 
or two hours apart, and with irregular severity, now sharp, now slight ; 
true pains come on with tolerable regularity and gradually increase in 
severity. The most valuable distinguishing symptom, however, is the 
absence of "show" in false labor pains, and its presence in true labor 
pains. 

The patient should abstain for a day or two from all stimulants; 
and take the following remedy, which is highly beneficial whether the 
pains are true or false: Tincture of Helonine, six drops, in one full 



DISCOMFORTS OF PREGNANCY. 389 

glass of water. Dose, two teaspoonfuls every hour. Either hot salt 
in a flannel bag, or a hot water bottle, applied every night at bedtime 
to the abdomen, will frequently afford great relief. 

MENTAL DISTRESS. 

The mind is often in a disturbed, excitable condition; fears and 
forebodings, gloomy thoughts, morbid imaginings and great depression 
of spirits afflict the patient. Causeless as are these illusions, they are 
serious in their effects if not dispelled. The shadows thus hovering 
over the reason of the prospective mother must be chased away by the 
sunlight of love, and it is important that her friends do this tactfully, 
and without apparent effort. 

SUGGESTIONS TO THE HUSBAND. 

Be more the lover than ever before. Tenderness now is doubly the 
wife's due. Contrive little diversions for her; bring home at one time 
a new book by her favorite author, to be read aloud together ; at an- 
other, a fruit of which she is especially fond, or a favorite flower, pic- 
ture or piece of music; at another, bring some intimate friend of the 
family, who will join you in an innocent conspiracy to get her out to a 
social meeting, a concert, a lecture, or some desirable form of entertain- 
ment, not too exciting; but if the hall be too crowded or overheated, 
you may show thoughtfulness enough to take her home. 

Occasionally invite her to walk, choosing some favorite place, and 

make the walk a leisurely one, pointing out objects of interest and 

beauty and calling her attention to various things that may have 

amused her before, even though the merest trifles ; for this, from the 

association of ideas, would start a pleasant train of thought, which in 

all endeavors is the chief object to be attained. It is your highest duty 

and privilege to calm her fears, soothe her irritations, and anticipate 

her desires. Short, easy journeys to places of which she is fond will 

be beneficial. See that disagreeable people are kept away from her 

and surround her frequently with congenial, welcome friends. Cheer- 
22 v. 



390 DISCOMFORTS OF PREGNANCY. 

f ul society is of great importance ; the faces that she now sees should 
always be genial, happy ones. 

This constant, loving sympathy, untiring in its watchful tenderness 
and unstinted in its sacrifices, will free the troubled mind from many 
a dark cloud, and in so doing will add many and priceless joys to the 
life of the thoughtful husband and prospective father. 

Let no one be appalled by this long list of discomforts common to 
pregnancy. Remember that no one woman in reasonable health need 
expect to suffer them all; one symptom or another, it is true, may ap- 
pear and vanish, and several may prove more or less troublesome at 
different stages. But it cannot be too strongly emphasized that hygienic 
living immensely lightens a woman's burdens of anxiety, renders 
her entire system more easily adjusted to change, and lessens her lia- 
bility to suffering at this period; and in great measure, she can thus 
determine for herself whether it is to be a period of constant physical 
and mental distress, or the path with few rough places and many flow- 
ers, leading to the gates of a woman's greatest earthly paradise— that 
of happy motherhood. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 

A Holy Desire — God Never Cursed Motherhood — Pain in Childbirth Unnatural — Indians 
Bear Children Easily — The Husband's Tenderness Called For— Continence Absolutely 
Healthful — A Midwife at Seventeen — Animals Bringing Forth Their Young — Heavy 
Eating Brings Heavy Children — Incidents and Experiences — Forty-Five Years in 
Helping Women — No Case Lost — Relaxation Better than Stupefaction — Where Child- 
birth Restores Health — Irish Confinements Easy — The Pregnant Woman's Food — 
Preparing the Bed — "The Show" — Preparations — Breathing — Perspiration — Diet Dur* 
ing Labor — Caring for the Newcomer — Delivery of the Placenta — Quiet for the 
Chamber — Gentle Care for the Mother. 

MOTHERHOOD is the grandest, loftiest, holiest God-given power 
to woman. Every young married woman should desire children. 
To be a mother should be her pride, her joy, her greatest ambition. 
This responsibility is dreaded because of the fear of pain, and of seri- 
ous after consequences that follow so many confinements. In view of 
these facts many women feel justified in desiring to escape such serious 
dangers. Also many do not desire children the first and second years 
after marriage. 

MBS. ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, 

in a lecture to ladies, thus strongly expresses her views regarding 
maternity and painless parturition: "We must educate our daughters 
to think motherhood is grand, and that God never cursed it. And that 
the curse, if it be a curse, may be rolled off, as man has rolled off the 
curse of labor, by labor-saving inventions ; and as the curse has been 
rolled from the descendants of Ham. My mission among women is to 
preach this new gospel. If you suffer, it is not because you are cursed of 
God, but because you violate His laws. What an incubus it would take 
from woman, could she be educated to know that the pains of maternity 
are no curse upon her kind. We know that among Indians the squaws 
do not suffer in childbirth. They will step aside from the ranks, even 

391 



392 CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 

on the march, and return in a short time bearing with them the new- 
born child. What an absurdity, then, to suppose that only enlightened 
Christian women are cursed." 

Dr. Dervees, one of the best authorities on obstetrics, has argued in 
one of his publications, ' ' That pain in child-birth is a morbid symptom, 
that it is a perversion of nature caused by living inconsistent with the 
most healthy conditions of the system, and that such regimen as should 
insure completely healthy conditions might be counted on with certainty 
to do away with such pain. ' ' 

The study of nature reveals the fact to us that the American In- 
dians and other savage races do not fear, but rather court the preg- 
nant condition, for among them since the days of Abraham it has been 
considered a shame and a disgrace for a woman not to have a child. 
These children of nature bear children easily, and we are led to study 
their methods and habits in our search for relief and safety for our 
more refined and cultured sisters ; and we have found it in temporarily 
relaxing the system by free perspiration and extra breathing of pure 
air. See the chapter on "A Breath of Air." 

A WORD TO HUSBANDS. 

During the whole period of gestation, the wife and mother will do 
better if she can have the assistance of her husband. This assistance 
consists simply in his extending to her his kindness, consideration, re- 
gard and sympathy. To render this he need lose no time from his busi- 
ness. It is not a question of time on his part, but of an understanding 
of the great value he has it in his power to be to her, without money and 
without price. Every husband should learn to appreciate the fact that 
there is no kind of stock-raising so valuable as human stock. He no, 
longer requires teaching relative to the successful improvement of 
horse-flesh ; let him take still another step, and learn a still higher les- 
son. Not to any original evil in nature or disposition is his seeming 
carelessness of the higher laws to be laid ; it is simply the result of in- 
herited tendencies and defective education. 

It would appear as if men in general reason that, when horses die, 



CHILDBIETH MADE EASY. 393 

money is required to buy more, but when women die, there are plenty 
to be had for nothing. We can scarcely believe this to be his real idea ; 
yet his grief-producing course is none the less a terrible truth. It is, 
however, a pleasure to be able to state that there are, among husbands, 
Imany noble exceptions to this sad rule. Women are laboring, and will 
continue to labor, to bring all husbands up to a nobler and more beau- 
tiful plane of being, and a higher standard of thought. 

If the mother is so unfortunate as to be denied the due co-operation 
of her husband, let her remember that it is always upon her, much more 
than upon him, that results depend ; and, when she correctly and fully 
understands the power that is hers to exercise in the divine office of 
maternity she can accomplish much, even though his aid is withheld. 
It is the laws of being, which produce and govern being, that she needs 
to know; and she should esteem it a glorious privilege to be living in 
a century when to woman is given the right of free investigation and 
free speech, equally with her brother man. 

There is another phase of marriage concerning which it is not only 
highly proper to give instruction, —it is indeed imperative. Men will 
not teach it, most medical colleges do not teach it ; it consists in correct- 
ing the idea that male continence is injurious. The average physician 
teaches that it is harmful for a man to retain his seed. More wicked 
instruction it is impossible to imagine. If the male has not sufficient 
legitimate employment to absorb and profitably use his surplus energies 
let him, as John Milton said, "go out and saw a log of wood." This 
erroneous teaching is so ingrained in the masculine mind as to prevent 
realization that by cultivating the mentality, the lower nature may be 
uplifted and transformed. Please understand that I do not condemn; 
I would only instruct. Men have become so saturated with this pernic- 
ious teaching, that they have come to believe that unless an outlet is 
found whereby they may throw away the substance which is, did they 
but know it, their true elixir, illness will result ; and this so preys upon 
their minds that they really do become ill from brooding over their 
supposed self-denial. 



394 CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 

Now, these men are innately good and they will yield to rational 
thought as soon as they can he made to realize the better way. They 
will readily observe continence in the marriage relation, when they 
rightly understand the laws governing their being. The dark age is 
past, hut there is still some medical teaching that deserves to go with 
it. The medical colleges should teach greater cultivation of the higher 
nature, and less of the lower. They should teach that happiness as well 
as health demands continence, not only because it would increase the 
husband's health and happiness, but because it would iniinitely en- 
hance the chances of the wife for continued strength, and healthy, 
happy offspring. 

u Asa man thinks, so he is," is a great truth, and so long as men 
believe continence to be injurious, the practice of it will make them ill- 
tempered, if not sick. It is a great truth, borne out by nature, that 
the masculine element will never be perfect in disposition, genius and 
physique, till it learns and believes the law that a conservation of the 
life forces, and not their waste, is the higher life. Man should more 
fully realize that the marriage that never dies is of the soul, not the 
body. He must realize that only on this higher plane is it possible to 
retain his wife 's love, and never through sensuality. He should realize 
that during gestation, his wife 's privacy should be sacred, and that not 
only his wife and child, but himself as well, will be better for it. When 
fully enlightened on this subject, he will understand that the more 
entirely he adheres to this rule, the more surely is he developing in 
himself a nobler and more perfect manhood. Continence is not in- 
jurious ; on the contrary it is beneficial. 

THE AUTHOR'S EARLY EXPERIENCE. 

Before studying medicine with a view to its practice, and while I 
was yet but a young girl, living in the country where there was no 
physician in the neighborhood, I had some experience, a portion of 
which I will relate. I did not then see, as I do now, that this experience 
was a clear indication of the vocation which would be most to my taste, 
as indeed it has been. There were some surgical cases, which, in the 



CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 395 

absence of an immediate physician, seemed naturally to fall into my 
hands; when the physician finally arrived, he would express astonish- 
ment at the skill displayed. But this part of my youthful experience 
in medicine is not called for here. It is of some obstetrical cases that 
I wish to speak. 

For the benefit of timid, expectant mothers the author has much 
good cheer and hope to offer. Being educated and trained in the Froe- 
bel Kindergarten, Burgdorf, Switzerland, where the moral and spir- 
itual in a child became the leading faculties, we became one with nature, 
pure and simple. Nature was not studied and observed by us with any 
morbid curiosity ; we looked upon all nature and animal creations with 
wonder and tender childlike love and trust. "While only a girl of seven- 
teen I was called upon to assist an older married sister in her first con- 
finement. She lived on a farm twelve miles from the nearest town, with 
neighbors far apart, and being so situated she was solely dependent 
upon her available friends and neighbors at this critical period. When 
the time came for her to be delivered of her child, I was her only at- 
tendant and assistant in her confinement. Thanks to naturally large 
endowments in the healing art and reasoning faculties, I had observed 
while at home on my father's farm the perfect ease with which all the 
farm animals bore their young, and naturally supposed that woman- 
kind passed through something of the same painless ordeals as did the 
animals when giving birth. For example, I had watched a hen when 
laying her egg] she naturally chooses a quiet place where she feels 
sure of not being disturbed and goes through certain almost imper- 
ceptible movements while laying the egg. The channel through which 
the egg passes relaxes and contracts and the entire body of the hen 
sympathetically stimulates movements to expel the matured egg. Then 
she flies from her nest and cackles vigorously at her great accomplish- 
ment. 

My father owned two beautiful mares, and one day I observed one 
of these animals about to give birth to a baby colt ; she stood erect one 
instant; the next she wcrald sh^be herself and snort vigorously; then 



396 CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 

she would lie down on the ground and roll from side to, side, then 
quickly spring to her feet again. She continued these natural per- 
formances until the colt was born. Great muscular activity was dis- 
tinguishable throughout the whole process of labor. 

All these experiences and the fact that my mother had given birth 
to eight children with the aid of a simple-minded midwife caused me to 
look upon my sister 's confinement as the most natural thing in the 
world. My sister did not lie down at all until the child had so far 
advanced to the external passage that its head could be felt through the 
distended walls of the perineum. She feared the child would drop on 
the floor before she took to her bed. She walked about, making all 
kinds of gestures, then would kneel down in front of her bed, drinking 
at short intervals a hot herb tea which was relaxing to the entire sys- 
tem and uterine organs, inducing copious perspiration, which gave her 
ease and comfort and lessened what might otherwise have been long 
hours of labor and pain; the baby was born in five hours and weighed 
twelve pounds. I tied the cord, changed her clothes, and made her com- 
fortable; gave her simple nourishment, and all went well. Let me 
mention that my sister was a heavy eater while pregnant, and to that 
I attribute the large size of her first child. In her following pregnancies 
she controlled her appetite, and of her following children none weighed 
over nine pounds. 

I have been called to many other women since, to aid them m pre- 
mature births as well as full term confinements. Not long after the 
experience with my sister, the indolent over-fleshy wife of a neighbor 
sent for me; my parents objected on account of my being so young, 
but the young husband pleaded that I might come, so at last my parents 
consented that I might go provided my younger sister should accom- 
pany me, as it was then early evening and would be dark before we 
could arrive at his home. 

We reached the woman at eight o'clock p. m. and found her one 
mass of fat lying on the bed weeping and groaning for help. I pre- 
pared our Swiss herb tea, which had served so well with my sister. We 



CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 397 

gave it to the woman by the bowl-full, very hot, every half hour ; at 
midnight the child was born dead, one great black mass. It was one 
of the largest I ever delivered, weighing fourteen pounds. The child 
was so fat that the head and shoulders obliterated its neck. 

I will now give more of my experiences in helping my sister women 
in this time of need : 

A young married woman, seven months pregnant, returning one 
night from a church entertainment, jumped to the ground from a lum- 
ber wagon in which she had been riding. The bag of waters was 
broken, and discharged a little daily for a week ; pains of a severe char- 
acter then set in, which continued forty-eight hours. The extremities 
became cold to the hips, and all pains ceased. She became alarmed at 
the situation, being miles from any physician, when I was asked to see 
her. I decided that what I had done for others would aid her. After 
stimulating with hot relaxing tea, and putting hot flat-irons to her feet, 
the child was born in twenty minutes. It had no finger nails, only a 
thin flimsy substance in their stead, and a large open fontanel beating 
like an exposed brain. It was of dark bluish color, and weighed only 
three and a half pounds. No milk came into the mother 's breast for a 
month. She was up in a few days, and the child has grown to full 
manhood, healthy and strong. 

A Mrs. D— miscarried her first child. Her second, which came at 
full term, was delivered in an hour and a half. No pain whatever, only 
a sense of pressure, was experienced. 

Mrs. W— , thirty-nine years of age, of low stature, thickset, fleshy, 
and of short breath, counselled with me in the beginning of her preg- 
nancy. I found her in a state of mind bordering on desperation. I as- 
sured her that she had no trouble to apprehend ; her fear, however, was 
not overcome until later. I recommended some appropriate books 
adapted to one in her condition; she read these and gave herself up to 
the higher wisdom. She kept away from such persons as would only 
depress her feelings and increase her anxiety, and in this way her mind 
5?as brought into a harmonious state. She grew to look forward with 



398 CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 

a fearless and strong heart to the fulfilment of her pregnancy, keeping 
uppermost in her mind the naturalness of child-bearing, and placing 
trust in the supreme Wisdom that does all things well. When the time 
for her confinement came, I was called again. I gave the treatment I 
had learned to employ, relaxed her system with artificial heat, and she 
had an easy delivery, so easy as to cause her to remark that she would 
not dread to have another. 

Since graduating from a medical college and taking up the practice 
as a profession, I find that I was, in my youth, on the right track, my 
present system being only an improvement on my early method. 

The following is an extreme case. A single lady, twenty-seven 
years of age, had unsuccessfully attempted an abortion to save her rep- 
utation. She was very beautiful. Her occupation was that of sewing. 
The poisonous drugs she had taken produced the death of the foetus, 
but not its expulsion. A great sufferer, she had lain in this condition 
six weeks, and was reduced almost to a skeleton. Two of the city 
physicians exhausted their skill on her, without success, and left her to 
die under the effects of opium. While in this dying condition, another 
lady physician and I were called. I suggested the sweating proc- 
ess, in connection with hot water injections to the unrelaxing womb, 
keeping her, meanwhile, warmly covered. One hour after this treat- 
ment the entire system relaxed, including the os-uteri, expelling con- 
tents, which was a rotten mass of putrefaction. The odor of a dissect- 
ing room was nothing compared with this. Another injection, not so 
warm, with a few drops of carbolic acid, was given, when she fell into 
a sound sleep. The sack or bag of waters did not break until reaction 
set in, producing painless contractions. The free perspiration also 
eliminated all poisons which had been taken into the stomach, purify- 
ing the entire system of foreign matter. She recovered perfectly, free 
from the least indication of fever or blood poisoning, which would or- 
dinarily be expected. One who had undergone a Turkish bath could 
not have responded more satisfactorily. 

At another time, while visiting in . Minneapolis, I was invited to a 



liHILDBIBTH MADE EASY. 399 

Woman's Hospital as counsel in a severe labor case. The woman had 
been in great suffering for two days, and, on examination, I lv^Lid still 
no dilatation of the os-uteri. I suggested my usual course, which was 
followed. In an hour and a half the child was delivered without pain, 
and there was a perfect recovery. 

My obstetrical cases have been very numerous, but I have never lost 
a case, nor met with an accident. Among these cases have been some 
critical ones, handed over to me from the hands of experts and sur- 
geons. For the benefit of those who are easily alarmed by stories 
of the serious experiences of others, the following illustrates what a 
woman can do in the absence of all assistance. A woman, aged forty, 
and mother of five children, lived on a farm in a vicinity where there 
was neither physician nor midwife. During the absence of her husband 
on business, she was taken with labor pains. Without assistance, alone 
in the house, she wrapped herself in a woolen shawl, and drank hot bev- 
erages until free perspiration was induced. She did not lie down, bu£ 
kept on her feet, knees, or in a sitting position. She had not long to 
wait before the child was born. She cut the cord, tied it, and waited 
for the after-birth, changing position frequently. This soon came, 
and in a few days she was as well as usual. Through it all she was 
entirely without fear. 

INTUITION AND SCIENCE HARMONIZED. 

Since practicing medicine I never relinquished the use of the Swiss 
herb tea mentioned (see Index for "Tokoine Tea"), which came to my 
own relief when I became a mother of two sons. With each confinement 
I observed the effect on myself. I have often wondered if I were not 
led into the study of medicine by some angelic influence, which found 
me so infinitely impressible as to obey the prompting to do just what 
I did. Modern science calls that intuition, which unerringly makes no 
mistakes if followed. The prayers of ages are answered when these 
wonderful intuitions are not blurred by avarice and selfishness and 
worldly pride. I believe and know they are the voice of God. Emer- 



400 



CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 



son says, that if any young man will in the hush of early morning fctop 
all conscious thinking and wait for that silent schoolmaster to speak to 
him, he will be told exactly what to do to make the greatest success in 
life, and each day's work will be mapped out plainly before him. I 
would not advise any person to do the things that I did without a physi- 
cian, but would insist upon making confinement easy and safe and of 
as short duration as possible. At my next birthday I shall have prac- 
ticed medicine 26 years, and I can safely claim a record of 45 years 
in confinement cases, and only in two cases having called in another 
physician. My records show that I have never lost a single case, 
mother or child. I find this temporary relaxing system in harmony 





OS UTERI. 

End of third month. Natural size. 



OS UTERI. 

End of sixth month. Natural size. 



with nature ; it surpasses chloroform in many ways. In the first place 
it is safe for mother and child; the relaxing is only temporary while 
the tea is given. As soon as the child is born, which is in from two 
to three hours in most cases, painless reaction and contractions of the 
womb and parturient channels take place, making hemorrhage impos- 
sible, where in chloroform treatment it is many hours before the relax- 
ing and deadening effect of the chloroform passes off, which condition 
makes possible great loss of blood, with slower recovery of the patient. 
These are not theories but actual experiences of a warm-hearted, sym- 
pathetic woman who has borne children and reared them to manhood. 
I feel it a privilege to give to my sister woman knowledge to protect 
herself from suffering, pain, sorrow and perhaps death ; for there are 



CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 



401 




so many sad records of the death of the mother or child, or both, 
through prolonged labor or dangerous sequences following child-birth. 
The simplest means in aiding nature are always best. 

The system here introduced is not new. It has been practiced in 
various parts of Europe for a hundred years. The many women con- 
fined after this method enjoy unbroken health. Many whose health 
previous to pregnancy was poor regained it after confinement in this 
harmless, natural manner. Many of them experienced no pain at all 
at confinement and the child was born in from one hour and a half to 
three hours at the longest. While some do not escape pain altogether, 

C- yet bearing chil- 
dren by this 
method was an 
easy matter and superior to any 
other. We do not combat phy- 
sicians of any school on any the- 
ory, or any established methods 
of treatment which add to the 
welfare of mankind, but we 
heartily invite the co-operation of all progressive and practical think- 
ers of any school. With us this knowledge is derived from long 
experience and not from undigested, undefined theories. Our object 
is to avert that suffering known only to woman in time of labor. We 
do not feel that any law of ethics should interfere with a humane act, 
or prevent the promulgation of the knowledge we possess in this 
matter. 

DIET DURING PREGNANCY. 

The diet for the mother while carrying a child should be wisely con- 
sidered. Set rules cannot be followed. A mixed diet is best, including 
cereals, vegetables, meats sparingly, and fruits in plenty. No change 
should be abrupt. Women, except among the rich, in some countries 
eat no meat at all. Women in Ireland of the poorer classes live on a 
diet of cabbage and potatoes. Their confinements are easy, with very 



OS UTERI. 

End of ninth month. Natural size. 



402 



CHILDBIBTH MADE EASY. 



little pain. Avoid sweets as much as possible as they dispose to acidity 
of the stomach and heartburn, especially when meat is partaken of at 
the same meal. Some women when pregnant have excessive appetites, 
eating as much at one meal as formerly accustomed to in two. Such 

women have large chil- 
dren, often weighing from 
12 to 14 pounds. These 
excessive appetites should 
be controlled. Leave the 
table a little hungry, and 
in less than twenty min- 
utes the craving for food 
will cease and the general 
feeling will be much im- 
proved; as a result the 
child will not be so large. 
The pregnant woman must 
drink much water. Much 
extra fluid is demanded by 
the system; hot water is 
best if she enjoys it The 
practice of deep breathing 
should be cultivated daily 
during all the months of 
gestation; the extra air 
breathed will form a sub- 
stitute for a portion of the 
solid food otherwise 
craved. The air we breathe is as necessary to the building of tissue 
as solid food. The breathing exercise will also be a most excellent 
additional preparation for the day of confinement, and will give an 
improved tone to the system generally. 

Where surgical aid might be required our treatment would still 




GRAVID UTERUS AT FULL PERIOD OF 
PREGNANCY. 

Measuring about thirteen inches in length and eight 
or nine in breadth; and having an ovoid figure. 



CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 



403 



be of great assistance. It relieves the physician of the anxieties gener- 
ally experienced, and is a boon to every woman in the land. It is a 
blessing come to woman, a system born of nature, soothing and refresh- 
ing. Many have remarked with their first child: "Why, I could have 
another and not feel tired," others, who in previous confinements have 
been ruptured 
and lacerated 
and cautioned not 
to become preg- 
nant again, after- 
wards pass 
through their 
confinements as 
safely as though 
former accidents 
had not occurred. 
The harmful ten- 
sion at birth is 
caused by lack of 
right knowledge 
on the part of the 
patient and an in- 
herited ignorance 
from an ancestry 
before th««n. This 
injurious tension 
is removed by tfce 

temporary rel&sations of the muscular and nervous system with the 
Tokoine Tea. 

TO PEEP ARE THE BED. 

Prepare the bed as though one was to sleep in it. Place the rubber 
oil-cloth sheet over the under sheet, cover it with newspaper, then with 
an old quilt, which can be washed easily. Have the bed set out from 




SIDE VIEW OF UTERUS AND PELVIC CAVITY. 

The os uteri entirely dilated; the membranes protruding into 
the vagina, as in labor. 



404 



CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 



the wall so the physician can use either side. The approaching ter- 
mination of gestation is indicated usually by various symptoms called 
premonitory signs of labor. About the last two weeks a change be- 
comes perceptible in the form of the abdomen. Its sides become more 
projecting, as the foetus sinks from the region of the stomach and 

epigastrium. This change 
makes breathing easier, the 
food is taken with less discom- 
fort, and in many ways the wo- 
man feels lighter and better. 
This change results from the 
body and neck of the womb 
blending into one, 
through the softening 
and giving way of the 
os internum uteri, and 
by the sinking down- 
ward of the uterus; 
the fundus of which is 
now found to lie mid- 
way between the ensi- 
form cartilage of the 
sternum, and the um- 
bilicum. At the same 
time the uterus is pro- 
jected forward. The 
inclination to urinate 
becomes more frequent, owing to the increased pressure on the blad- 
der. Sleep is more broken by restlessness, and walking becomes more 
difficult. The woman becomes more clumsy, and, a little later, glairy 
discharges take place from the vagina. These simply show an in- 
creased action of the mucous glands preparing for the final act of 
parturition. Finally there is the commencement of painless contrac- 




LABOR CONSIDERABLY ADVANCED. 
Head in the pelvis, face directed to the right side. 



CHILDBIRTH MADE EAS1Z. 



405 



tions; these, a little later on, become somewhat painful, this slight 
painfullness being only one of the signs. The mucus is more or less 
tinged with blood from the rupture of small vessels around the cervix, 
due to commencing dilatation and separation of the membrane— in 
the language of the lying- 
chamber, "the show." As 
patient is about to give 
to the child, she 
should see that the 
bowels are evacu- 
ated, and if this is 
not accomplished * 
naturally, a copious y 
injection of warm 
water should be used. 
If the constipation is 
very obstinate, an in- 
jection of slippery 
elm infusion with a 
little soap should be 
taken, in order to in- 
sure a free evacua- 
tion. In the early 
part of the first stage 
to induce free per- 
spiration give warm 
Tokoine tea, a cup 
every 30 minutes ac- 
cording to directions. Have the room warm, with plenty of pure 
air. Attend to the feet and keep them warm. Pay attention 
to oiling the vagina and surrounding tissues with pure, sweet 
lard or unsalted butter. All handling or maneuvering, in the hope of 
bettering the process of nature, is uncalled for and injurious. Parts 

23 V. 




LABOR FURTHER ADVANCED. 

Face turned into sacral cavity; vertex external; forehead 
distending the perineum; right shoulder entering pelvis 
towards the right groin; the left towards the sacro-iliac 
symphysis. 



106 



CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 



that are taxed by this process of nature quickly rally to a normal con- 
dition and tone, while unnecessary manipulation may subject them to 
serious injury and cause much after suffering. While the patient is 
taking the tea, she should pay special attention to extra breathing. Fill 
the lungs by inhaling through the nostrils, breathing as deeply as pos- 
sible, and exhaling slowly in the same manner. Extra breathing in- 
creases the strength and 
endurance of the patient; 
all remedies act more for- 
cibly, and, capillary circu- 
lation being increased, at 
the same time hemorrhages 
are prevented or cured. 
This will cause perspira- 
tion where otherwise there 
would be pain, and I can- 
not impress it too vividly 
upon your minds. Many 
suppose that perspiration 
is weakening ; experience 
has proven to the contrary. Free 
perspiration removes all fear of fe- 
ver and other unpleasant symptoms 
generally attending child-birth. The 
child and placenta are delivered in 
THE vital SYSTEM. ' f rom one to three hours at the long- 
est, and the patient is left free from laceration, rupture, fevers, blood 
poisoning, and all the sequences so frequently following parturition. 
She sutlers no pains, soreness, rigors, nor chills, when reaction takes 
place. Age is no hindrance to an easy and natural delivery. It will 
be as easy at forty as at twenty years of age. Nothing less than a 
malformation of the pelvis can prevent a perfect delivery. In such a 
case, where surgical aid might be required, this treatment would still 




CHILDBIETH MADE EASY. 407 

be of great assistance ; it is invaluable in premature births, when the 
contents are large enough to give expulsive power. 

When the time has come for the mother to give birth, she should 
put on a loose dress ; a flannel wrapper is best. Flannel is a noncon- 
ductor of heat, and as the object of the treatment is to remove all ten- 
sions of the nervous and muscular system, the retention of the heat 
becomes an assistant and also aids in dilating the os uteri and sur- 
rounding tissue. 

. DIET AND REGIMEN OF THE WOMAN IN LABOR. 

Cold water or lemonade is all the refreshment necessary during 
labor. The use of fermented liquors of any kind should be dispensed 
with. If the patient is in the habit of drinking tea, a small quantity 
cold or warm may be very refreshing. A little broth or soup may also 
be allowed during labor. It is necessary that the enema shall not be 
forgotten in order to clear the rectum of its contents. Frequent evac- 
uation of the bladder during labor is important. 

DELIVERY OF CHILD. 

After the expulsion of the child, a soft napKin should be used to 
wipe the child's face, eyes, and mouth. It usually cries lustily as 
soon as it is born. It should be permitted to lie undisturbed for five 
minutes until respiration is fully established. By that time the cord 
will have ceased to pulsate until within three inches and a half of the 
abdomen. It should then be cut three inches from the abdomen; the 
child should be allowed to lie about two minutes longer to allow the 
blood in the cord to ooze away. The child should then be handed 
to the nurse, wrapped in a blanket. The mother should not see the 
?hild until it is washed and dressed. Let the first wash be a light one 
and olive oil used freely all over the child's body and head. Wipe off 
and place the child in a soft blanket. After the mother has been made 
comfortable and had some light food, wash and rub the body dry. 
Should the cord seem large and tapering from the abdomen, care should 
be taken not to wound the intestine ; a portion of which mav be within 



408 



CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY. 



it. In such case the cord should be cut beyond the extended intestine, 
and the bowel should be returned into the abdomen and held in place 
by means of the belly band. A piece of cotton batting the size of the 
palm of the hand with a hole in it should be slipped over the cord, and 
another piece the same size to cover the cord. Turn the cord upwards, 
the whole being kept in place by the usual belly band. 



DELIVERY OF THE PLACENTA. 

After tne child has been handed to the nurse, the next care should 
be to the delivery of the placenta, for until it is removed and the uterus 
has contracted firmly the woman cannot be regarded as altogether free 
from the danger of flooding. There is a momentary relief from pains 
immediately after the expulsion of the child. At this time do not for- 
get the breathing ; the patient should slowly inhale seven times, exhale 
seven times; repeat three times. The pains return in a diminished 
degree and the placenta usually becomes entirely detached from the 
uterus and either lies free in the vagina or is expelled without the 
vulva. Should the placenta be found to be still attached to the uterus 
after a delay of about twenty minutes, or should hemorrhage occur, ap- 
ply the palm of the hand to the abdomen over the womb, making gentle 
pressure as though attempting to grasp it. Also apply a cold compress 
a few minutes over the womb. Sometimes the placenta lies detached in 
the mouth of the uterus ; if so the fore finger should be placed above the 
edge of the placenta, hook the fingers into the placenta, draw it down- 
ward and out carefully and slowly. Should the placenta remain at- 
tached to the uterus let it remain; by waiting a few hours nature will 
come to your relief. Give the patient chamomile tea made very weak, 
to drink, and a few drops of Pulsatilla in water, a teaspoonful every 
ten minutes. A little gentle friction over the womb will aid in detach- 
ing it. I have left the placenta many hours after expulsion of the child 
and on several occasions it has dropped into the vessel when the patient 
rose to urinate. The placenta with its cord and membranes should then 
be placed in a vessel and removed from the lying-in chamber as soon 



CHILDBIETH MADE EASY. 4(W 

as possible. After the mother has rested a few hours apply the chile? 
to the breast. This procedure stimulates the many glands into action, 
furthering the necessary uterine contraction. The patient's bowels 
should not be disturbed for eight or nine days after the birth of the 
child ; the old custom of giving a purgative three days after confinement 
is exceedingly pernicious and sometimes gives rise to serious conse- 
quences. Until after the secretion of the milk the diet must be very 
simple, the room kept quiet and shady. The bed covering should be 
light yet warm. I prefer the double woolen blankets, which are porous 
and admit the oxygen yet are nonconductors of heat. The room should 
be daily ventilated, the window a little open at the top, the body washed 
with warm water to keep her clean and to prevent the obnoxious odor 
which we sometimes find among women after child-birth. The woman 
should be made comfortably dry and a soft dry cloth should be placed 
to the vulva. She should be straightened out a little and made com- 
fortable, should be enjoined to remain perfectly passive, and should not 
be subjected to a disturbing influence of any kind. The room should 
be darkened somewhat more than during parturition, and talking and 
whispering strictly forbidden. Perfect quiet should be maintained 
in order that she may sleep, which will prove very advantageous and 
refreshing. Additional covering should be applied, and if she desires 
water allow her to drink freely. The nurse will, of course, understand 
her duty of keeping the patient clean and comfortable. The relief ex- 
perienced after parturition, is, according to the patient's own words, 
"as though she was in Heaven." In a few hours the woman should be 
visited again to ascertain if she has desire to urinate ; if so, pour some 
hot water in the vessel ; if she feels no desire give a few drops of can- 
tharis in a glass of water. Let the patient change from side to side 
and seek the most comfortable position in bed. The second week after 
child-birth the patient can take a very warm sitz bath in the bath tub. 
Cover the shoulders well with a warm sheet or old shawl while the 
lower body and limbs are being washed. Give a quick short wash over 
the chest and shoulders, dry quickly and place her in bed. The uterus 



410 



CHILDBIRTH MADE EASY, 



and vagina return to their natural size in the course of six weeks. Dur- 
ing these weeks a discharge from the vagina is taking place, first of 
pure blood for a day or two, which grows paler and paler, then becomes 
watery and at last entirely disappears. This discharge is called the 
lochia. 

FOEOEPS 

should be used only as a last resort. Instruments frequently maim 
both mother and child. Our statistics establish the fact that asylums 
are crowded with idiots and insane, who are so from birth through the 
use of forceps in delivery. Through the use of forceps the delicate un- 
formed bones which contain the brains, are maimed, flattened and 
bruised. 

RUPTURE OF THE UTERUS AND VAGINA. 

Rupture of the uterus is one of the most serious complications or 
accidents which can occur during the puerperal state. It may occur 
at any time during labor, but it is much more frequent in the latter 
stage than in the first. Women in their first confinements are much 
more liable to the accident than those who have borne children before. 
It almost always involves a rupture of the vagina also. The cause 
of so unfortunate an accident may be referred to many circumstances. 
The temporary relaxing properties of the Tokoine positively prevent 
such accidents. I desire to quote the words of a physician, Dr. Kenny, 
of Idaho, whose daughter suffered rupture of the womb and was ter- 
ribly lacerated at her first confinement, passed through the operation 
of having the parts sewed up, and became pregnant again. Her father, 
being a surgeon, fearing she could not pass through the second confine- 
ment without suffering greater complications than with the first, wrote 
to me for assistance. I mailed him the relaxing Tokoine Tea and re- 
ceived the reply that everything went well; that the child was born 
in a few hours and that the confinement was easy and natural. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

CARE OF INFANTS. 

The Loving Mother's Questions — Their Poetic Answer — "How Much For Baby?" — Once, 
Preparation; Now, Realization — Harmonious Laws for Training — The Mother's Milk 
the Best Food — The "Hungry Ball" — Interpreting the Cries — Soothing by Massage — 
That Chicago Baby — One Child Who Had a Fair Start — Baby Not to Be Made a 
Mummy — The "Gretchen" and "Gertrude" Suits — Simplicity and Freedom in Cloth- 
ing — A Clean Baby — Shortening Clothes — Everything Changed at Night — Clothing for 
Out-Door Wear — Baby's Joy in the Bath — His Travels Begin Early — Baby a 
"Kicker" — Soon a Trotter — Restful Sleep — The Sleeping Face a Guide to Health- 
Four Great Essentials. 

WHERE did you come from, baby dear? 
Out of the everywhere iuto here. 
Where did you get your eyes so blue? 
Out of the sky as I came through. 
What makes the light in them sparkle and spin? 
Some of the starry spikes left in. 
Where did you get that little tear? 
I found it waiting when I got here. 
What makes your forehead so smooth and high? 
A soft hand stroked it as I came by. 
What makes your cheek like a warm white rose ? 
I saw something better than anyone knows. 
Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss ? 
Three angels gave me at once a kiss. 
Where did you get this pearly ear? 
God spoke, and it came out to hear. 
Where did you get those arms and hands? 
Love made itself into hooks and bands. 
Feet, whence did you come, you darling things ? 
From the same box as the cherubs' wings. 
How did they all just come to be you? 
God thought about me, and so I grew. 
But how did you come to us, you dear? 
God thought about you, and so I am here. 

—George Macdonald, 
411 



412 CAEE OF INFANTS. 

THE VALUE OF A CHILD. 

Is there any computing it? Can even mother-love set an estimate 
upon it? A soul straight from God, clothed in a physical form that re- 
flects the mother's own life and thought, and looks up at her with 
eyes often the counterpart of those which smiled into hers during that 
golden period, life's honeymoon, which was after all but a foretaste of 
the heaven now here. A life with infinite possibilities ; a little human 
blossom to be cared for, guided, lovingly trained into more and more 
of the divine likeness as the years go by. What a blessed privilege! 
Till now, hers has been the pleasure of preparation ; now it is realiza- 
tion. 

Each new-born child is a gift not only to parents, but to society, 
the nation and the world. Its right education is therefore all-impor- 
tant. This education having been begun before birth, need now only 
be continued; and Nature's laws, in all their harmony and beauty, 
should be applied to this sacred task. The kindergarten method of 
training the awakening faculties, based on Froebel's beautiful teach- 
ing, has much to recommend it. Of this, more presently. But let us 
first consider a few simple rules of caring for the dainty little pink 
and white morsel of humanity in its most obvious rjhysical needs. 

BABY'S FOOD. 

The food must contain all the elements necessary to the formation 
and growth of the various tissues; must be of the best quality; must 
be as palatable as it is nourishing, lest his little High Mightiness dis- 
dain to take it ; and must be fluid, as the teeth have not yet manifested 
their presence. 

Nature has provided exactly what is needed in all respects, in the 
mother's milk. If the mother has been kept in a good physical condi- 
tion since girlhood, the supply will be abundant. 

The only medication given the child should be through the mother. 
Purgatives are not to be used except in extreme cases. If the child's 
bowels are costive, tepid rainwater injections are the best remedy, 



CAEE OF INFANTS. 413 

leaving no ill effects. The mother's milk for the first few days is an 
aperient in itself. The surface skimmed from water in which wheat 
has been boiled for several hours is a harmless and nourishing aperient 
which may be given to the child when it seems necessary. 

One simple preparation which a little one beginning to talk named 
her " hungry ball," and of which she was very fond, is an excellent 
specific for looseness of the bowels. It is fine wheat flour tied tightly 
in a bag and boiled for hours, then browned in the oven, grated, and 
given dry, as a powder in a spoon. But there is more to be said on 
the subject of baby's food than can come into one brief general chap- 
ter. It will be treated further in the chapters on "Nursing" and 
" Weaning." 

CRYING. 

Healthy infants sleep much of the time, and cry very little; still, 
there must be some crying. Mothers will soon learn to interpret the 
cries as expressions of the various kinds of discomfort or disapproval 
which the little one is trying to express; whether caused by hunger, 
pain, tight clothing, or other uncomfortable condition. Sometimes it 
is but the reflection of the mother's own fretfulness during pregnancy. 
A peevish, unhappy expectant mother is absolutely certain to have a 
child that cries much of the time. 

If there is no abdominal rupture, a moderate amount of crying will 
do no harm. In fact it is necessary, to expand the lungs, and is also a 
relief to overwrought feelings, whatever the trouble. But frequent or 
long-continued crying indicates a cause that should be looked into. It 
is not always hunger; sometimes it is thirst. Give a restless child a 
little warm water, slightly sweetened, and it often becomes placid at 
once. If it is nursing time, the cause and remedy are plain. Some- 
times a badly adjusted safety pin may be pricking. If the clothing is 
too tight, or the diaper is wet or soiled, that would cause the discom- 
fort; or if the child is cold, it may have induced colic. When this is 
the case, warming the feet and rubbing the abdomen with the hand 
moistened with olive oil will usually stop the crying. One of the best 



414 CARE OF INFANTS. 

ways of soothing a restless infant, where nothing but nervousness ap- 
pears to be the matter, is by gentle rubbing or massage with the hand. 
This light friction over the surface of the body is much better than 
rocking, jolting or trotting. Keep the little one as quiet as possible; 
too much excitement, or jarring, unnatural motion is bad for the deli- 
cate nervous system. 

AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT. 

One Chicago baby at the age of four months is unusually strong 
and well-developed, largely because of a system of regular, gentle 
massage given her daily. This rubbing and kneading process is carried 
on in the most scientific way, and it is thought that the child will have 
its power of speech and other faculties considerably hastened— not 
abnormally forced, but healthfully invigorated— by the methods used 
to strengthen every muscle in the little body. She is taken out for a 
two and a half hour ride in an open car, every day, and if wakeful at 
night is soothed to sleep not by feeding, rocking or bouncing, but by 
a few minutes gentle friction over her body, which never fails to ' ' bring 
the sand-man. ' ' The effort of a child to bring into action every muscle 
of the body has been defined as the nearest approach possible to a 
solution of the problem of perpetual motion. Eemember that the con- 
nection between physical and mental development is very close. 
"What more could be desired," ask physicians, "than to help these 
untrained muscles to act, and thereby gain a beautiful face, a clear 
eye, and an awakened intellect V 9 This Chicago baby, it may be re- 
marked, seems unusually intelligent, noticing everything, asking 
plainly, without words, for her massage, and enjoying it as much as 
her ride, her bath, or her meals. Life, to this small specimen of hu- 
manity, is a very delightful arrangement. But it should be especially 
noted that the baby had a fair start. The mother, in this case, fully 
realized her responsibilities before the little girl was born, and set 
about giving the child the benefit of her best thoughts and her fullest 
physical strength. With this end in view she strove for a complete 



CABE OF INFANTS. 415 

change in her physical, mental and spiritual nature. She made every 
effort to live as closely as possible to the ideal character which she 
hoped to see in her child. Every morning she took systematic outdoor 
exercise. Every evening massage was given her. Irritable and 
despondent thoughts were banished if they crowded in upon her. If 
insistent they were thrown off with a brisk walk or with hard study, 
which would serve to overpower the feeling of unrest. Carefully 
weighing the weak points in her education, she adopted a regular course 
of reading, especially along the line of composition, in which she felt 
herself deficient. 

As the mental acts through the physical, the muscle-strengthening 
process will help the mind, which in turn, as it develops, will help the 
body ; so that great and well-founded hopes are felt for this little girl 's 
future, as she shall grow able to continue with her own conscious 
efforts the right habits formed for her in earliest infancy. 

BABY'S CLOTHING. 

Warmth, lightness, looseness and freedom from pins are the four 
chief things to remember in preparing an infant's clothing. It will be 
easily seen that on beginning an existence separate from the mother, 
warmth is essential to keep up the vitality. There is almost no power 
of resistance to cold, in a very young child, and the system needs to 
be guarded. But the long skirts once thought necessary add weight 
rather than warmth; they are burdensome to the tiny body, and the 
child cannot be handled so easily as when they are made shorter. They 
need never extend more than twelve or fourteen inches beyond the 
feet, and from six to eight inches would be better. The dress should 
be loose about the chest and waist, so that the lungs and heart may 
have free action; it should be loose about the stomach, so that diges- 
tion may not be impeded ; it ought to be loose about the bowels, so as 
not to interfere with the movement of the intestines ; and it should be 
loose about the sleeves, for the purpose of giving the blood free course 
through the arteries and veins, and encouraging the arms in the active 



416 CAEE OF INFANTS. 

exercise so natural and necessary to growth. A child is in almost 
constant motion for months before its birth ; and after birth, if healthy, 
it is never still while awake. Hence it is important that the clothing 
be such as will not restrain its movements. 

THE FIRST GARMENTS. 

For a new-born infant, the first toilet is very simple. A flannel 
band, fastened smoothly but not tightly about the waist; a diaper, a 
princess undergarment of fine wool or canton flannel ; and a nightdress 
or slip, are all that is necessary. 

The outfit called in Germany the ' ' Gretchen suit, ' ' and in America 
the "Gertrude suit" is excellent. It is as follows: 

"The undergarment should be made of nice, fleecy goods— canton 
flannel is the best we have at present— cut princess, reaching from the 
neck to ten inches below the feet, with sleeves to the wrists, and having 
all the seams smooth, and the hems upon the outside ; a tie and button 
behind. Here you have a complete fleece-lined garment, comfortable 
and healthful, and one that can be washed without shrinking. The 
next garment is made of baby flannel (woolen), also cut princess, same 
pattern, only one-half inch larger, reaching from the neck to twelve 
or fourteen inches below the feet— to cover the other— with generous 
armholes pinked or scalloped, but not bound, and with two buttons 
behind at the neck, and may be embroidered at pleasure. The dress 
cut princess to match the other garments, is preferable.' ' 

AN EASY METHOD. 

These garments are placed together before dressing— sleeve within 
sleeve— and can then be put over the child's head at once, buttoned be- 
hind, and baby is dressed; the safety pins in band and diaper being 
the only pins in the entire clothing. The main advantages in this 
wardrobe are the perfect freedom afforded to the vital organs in the 
chest, abdomen and pelvis ; the fact that the weight all hangs from the 
shoulders; the evenly distributed warmth; the great saving of time 



CABE OF INFANTS. 417 

and strength of the mother in dressing the infant; and the resulting 
comfort and health of the child. 

The thickness and even the number of these garments may be easily 
regulated according to the season. Some discard the belly-band as 
soon as the navel is healed ; but I would advise that it be retained until 
the end of the third month, as its use often tends to prevent a navel 
rupture. 

The diapers may be either of linen or cotton; linen is less likely 
to chafe when wet. The supply should be abundant, that they may be 
exchanged for fresh ones as often as soiled, and sometimes it is found 
desirable to increase the thickness by folding a smaller one inside the 
usual one. K is then pinned to the band with a safety pin, which 
should be carefully examined to make sure that the point is well 
guarded. 

HABITS OF CLEANLINESS. 

I cannot recommend the thin rubber diaper intended to protect the 
body clothing from dampness. It is harmful to the child in several 
ways. Not being porous, it causes overheating, and as it conceals the 
need of attention, chafing results from the neglect. The linen or cot- 
ton is the only proper material; but it is possible to train the child 
to habits of cleanliness so as to dispense with diapers at a very early 
age. If an infant be held over a vessel at least six times during the 
twenty-four hours, beginning when he is three months old, it will often 
be found that by the end of the fourth month habits will be established 
which will certainly be a great relief to the mother or nurse, besides 
being of inestimable value to the child himself. It is well worth try- 
ing. Teach the children cleanly habits from early infancy and avoid 
trouble later on. An unclean child is a disgrace to any mother. 

It will do a great deal to prevent chafing if the diapers are rinsed 
each time they become wet. They are much healthier in every way. 

THE FOOT COVEBING. 

The feet should be carefully looked after, and in the winter should 
be kept warm with woolen stockings. They should be bathed every 



418 CARE OF INFANTS. 

night if possible. Attending to the feet to keep them warm adds to the 
child's comfort by preventing colic, colds and snuffles. 

Crocheted socks are the most comfortable for the feet during the 
first three months ; then the soft kid sandals are good until the child 
begins to walk. The first shoes worn in walking must be broad at the 
toe, and are better laced than buttoned; and best of all are the low 
shoes with straps across the instep, for the ankles will be stronger if 
these be worn, rather than high shoes. 

THE "SHORTENING" PERIOD. 

In summer, the skirts may be shortened at two months ; in winter, 
at three months. It should not be deferred longer than the sixth 
month; for the earlier it is done, the better use the child will have of 
his legs. Yet it is better to make the change in warm weather than at 
any chilly season ; and best of all to have the first skirts made so short 
that as the child grows, there will be little need of any shortening at 
all, until it is old enough to walk. 

The stockings to be worn with short skirts must be long enough to 
cover the knee. They are fastened to the diaper with safety pins until 
drawers are worn. After that, they are fastened by elastic suspenders 
attached to an underwaist, to which the drawers are also buttoned. 

THE NIGHTCLOTHING. 

Every garment worn during the day should be removed at night. 
The nightclothing, in addition to band and diaper, should be a wool 
shirt, thin or thick, according to the season, and a flannel gown made 
with a drawstring at the bottom ; or for a child who can walk, the long, 
loose combination waist and drawers made with feet, is excellent. 

FOE OUT-DOOR WEAR. 

In warm weather no wraps are needed, but the head should be pro- 
tected from the sun's rays. In winter, until the child is three or four 
^ears old, he should wear warm leggings which come up to the waist. 
The other wraps necessary are a long cloak, a close-fitting, thick cap* 



CAxlE OF INFANTS. 419 

and woolen mittens. They should not be put on until just before taking 
the child out, as overheating will lead to chilling; and for the same 
reason they should be at once removed on arriving in the house. 

At the change of seasons from winter to summer, make the first re- 
adjustment of clothing in the outer rather than the undergarments. 
The winter flannels should not be left off until the warm weather is 
settled. 

HOW OFTEN TO CHANGE CLOTHING. 

Frequent changes of clothing are essential. In early infancy the 
undergarments, unless soiled by discharges, require changing only 
every alternate day; but the outside slip or dress will need daily 
changing, as it becomes soiled from the day's handling. After the 
child is old enough to creep about and play, the clean frock will often 
be needed more than once a day. The dresses at such a time should 
therefore be numerous but except for ceremonious occasions, should 
be simply made. A clean child is always sweet and attractive; yet it 
is well to distinguish between the grime which comes from play, which 
is healthy dirt, and the very different, rancid, impure, disease-breed- 
ing condition resulting from unchanged clothing and unwashed bodies. 

BATHING. 

The bath is not only a cleansing process, but a strengthening one. 
Every morning of his life an infant should be thoroughly washed from 
head to foot. His first bath will be the oil rubbing described in an 
earlier chapter; but after a few hours rest he should be given his first 
water bath. This should be with castile soap, warm rainwater and a 
piece of soft flannel. It should be a sponging process ; it is not as well 
to begin the tub baths until the navel is healed. Care should be taken 
to close doors and windows and keep them closed during the bath, 
and to have the room warmer by several degrees than when the child 
is protected by clothing. Also one should be careful not to let soap 
get into the eyes; it might cause inflammation. 

As soon as the navel is healed, the daily tub-baths should be made 



420 



CARE OF INFANTS. 



a practice. All articles needed should be in readiness before begin- 
ning ; the clothing well aired, and within reach ; the wash-cloths, soap, 
sponge, thermometer, towels and powder at hand. 

It is always best to nse a thermometer in testing the warmth of 
the water. The hand is not a safe guide, as the flesh of a young infant 
is so much more delicate. Too great heat would be painful, and too 
little would lower the vitality. The water should be about ninety-five 
degrees Fahrenheit in winter, and somewhat cooler in summer. 

First wet the child 's head, then place him in the tub and cleanse 
the whole body with a flannel wash-cloth, well soaped. Special atten- 
tion should be given to the armpits, groins, and creases of fat. Follow 
this by thorough rinsing, using a large sponge and letting the water 
stream all over the body, especially over the back and loins. Do not 
be afraid of using plenty of water. More infants suffer from lack of 
sufficient water, applied both internally and externally, than is realized. 
Five or six minutes is long enough for the bath to be the most strength- 
ening. 

THE DRYING PROCESS. 

On removing the child from the bath, wrap him in a piece of 
blanket, or a large bath-towel, and dry thoroughly, gently, but quickly 
with a warm, soft towel. Be especially careful in drying the ears; 
neglect here has often caused gatherings or deafness. Never clean 
them with a pin or other hard substances. A soft handkerchief twisted 
into the form of a blunt cone will remove moisture or secretions from 
the ear-canals or nostrils. All the creases of the skin must be smoothed 
out and dried perfectly; this faithful care, together with the use of a 
little powder, will go far to prevent chafing. Violet powder, which is 
merely finely powdered starch scented, is the most satisfactory. It 
may be procured of any druggist ; or the old-fashioned starch made of 
wheat flour and reduced to powder by means of mortar and pestle, will 
answer the purpose. It may be applied either with a powder puff, or 
by tying a little in a piece of muslin and dusting it in the creases or 
wherever the flesh is inclined to chafe. 



CARE OF INFANTS. 421 

The bath should always be given before instead of after feeding; 
and a child should not be placed in his tub when either chilly or over- 
heated. His body should be gently, not suddenly immersed, and he 
should not be left in the water longer than five or six minutes. "Wash- 
ing the head daily is of benefit in three ways: it helps to prevent the 
formation of scurf, to prevent colds, and it stimulates the growth of 
the hair. 

After the bath is, of course, the right time for massage or rubbing; 
also for attending to the nails. Both toe nails and finger nails should 
be trimmed when necessary, but not too closely, especially at the cor- 
ners. A pair of small, sharp scissors should be at hand with which 
to closely trim any hang-nails. 

A partial bath or sponging in the evening is restful to an infant, 
and it is often necessary to sponge parts of the body with warm water 
during the day, after a discharge from the bowels. Dry carefully. 

CHAFING. 

Inattention, lack of water, and lack of care in drying are the usual 
causes of chafing. Sponge the chafed parts with tepid rainwater, let- 
ting it stream over them from a well-filled sponge; dry gently but 
thoroughly with a soft towel, oil the parts with vaseline and dust with 
powder. 

ENEMAS. 

While on the subject of water, let me say that for a costive infant, 
there is nothing better than to wash out the bowels with a warm water 
enema. Use three, four or even more tablespoonfuls of warm water, 
according to the age of the infant. If a first enema does not prove 
effectual, try a second, and if need be, a third. No harm can possibly 
arise from so simple a remedy; it gives no pain, interferes with none 
of nature's processes, but assists them instead, and is easily adminis- 
tered, requiring but a few seconds. 

Another excellent means of relaxing costive bowels is to give an 
infant a dessertspoonful or a tablespoonful of cold water to drink as 

24 V. 



422 CARE OF INFANTS. 

soon as lie awakens in the morning. This should be made a regular 
practice every morning of his life, increasing the quantity as he grows 
older. The folly and cruelty of administering cathartic drugs to in- 
fants cannot be too emphatically stated. The ultimate result of this 
practice is always to increase the constipation, and to derange the 
system. If the costive condition is caused by teething, as it often is, 
see the chapter on "Teething" for its proper treatment. 

EXERCISE. 

This is one of the cornerstones of health during the whole life. 
Children instinctively seek motion, and the more freedom allowed them 
the better, that the growing muscles may develop unhindered at least, 
if not scientifically aided. 

A new born infant 's first travels begin in his nurse 's arms. When 
a few days old he should be laid upon his back on a pillow and carried 
about the house, provided there is an even temperature, for ten or 
fifteen minutes. This should be repeated daily. If it is summer, he 
can be carried out of doors by the time he is a week or two old, but if 
winter, do not attempt it on any account under a month, and not then 
unless the weather is very mild for the season, and during the middle 
of the day. At the end of two months he should breathe the open air 
more frequently ; and by the time he is three months old, he should be 
taken out every day. He must, of course, be well clothed; but do not 
muffle up his face. A veil prevents him from receiving the benefit of 
the fresh air. In summer, a child three months old and upward should 
be out of doors the greater part of his waking hours. 

Massage is excellent for the muscles, and cannot be too highly 
commended ; but aside from this, an infant 's tendency to use muscular 
exertion for himself should be encouraged. Place him frequently upon 
the rug or carpet, where he can stretch his limbs and kick about 
freely. His approval will soon be made manifest. It is both a delight 
and a benefit to a child to exercise his limbs in this way. It strengthens 
his back, and gives him self-reliance. During his exercise the diaper 



CARE OF INFANTS. 423 

should be unfastened so as to leave him quite untrammeled. Of course, 
drafts must be kept off, and a quilt or blanket might be spread upon 
the floor. 

FREEDOM BETTER THAN EXCITEMENT. 

One great advantage in this form of exercise is that the babe is 
quietly enjoying himself without undue excitement to the brain. An 
infant requires rest, not excitement. Many mothers and nurses over- 
look this important fact, and in their efforts to amuse, will often arouse 
and excite very young children, to their great detriment. The quieter 
an infant is kept, during the first few months of his life, the better. 
His time ought at that period to be spent almost wholly in sleeping 
and in nursing. Violent rocking, swinging, trotting, and especially 
tossing, should not be indulged in. These are forms of exercise that 
derange the nervous system instead of developing the muscles. The 
practice of tossing a young babe, to amuse it, has been known to bring 
on convulsions. As a rule, when a child needs exercise he will take it 
himself, if freedom and opportunity be not lacking. 

LEARNING TO WALK. 

Do not hurry a child by putting him on his feet too early. Let 
him creep and kick and sprawl about the floor until his body and ankles 
become strong. It will help to strengthen his ankles if they are bathed 
for five minutes every morning with sea-salt water; a small handful 
of the salt in a quart of rainwater. They will also be stronger if low 
shoes are worn with straps over the insteps to keep them on, rather 
than boots. When baby is ready to walk, he will indicate it by pulling 
himself up by a chair, or by the mother's dress. Then he may be 
encouraged, with frequent rests, and the first steps made the signal 
for a family celebration. 

SLEEP. 

I would not advise rocking an infant to sleep. The slumber is 
sweeter and more restful, if the laws of health are observed and the 



424 CARE OF INFANTS. 

child's nervous system is kept in good condition, than when he is accus* 
tomed to rocking so that he cannot go to sleep without it. 

The sleeping room should be warm, but from time to time should 
be properly ventilated. Many people are poisoned by their own 
breaths, without knowing it. An infant, especially, needs to breathe 
pure, sweet air ; and it is better, therefore, that his crib or bed should 
be one with free access to the air at both sides and head. The door 
should be frequently left open so as to change the air in the room, 
taking care, of course, not to expose him to a direct draft. If flies 
disturb him, a piece of mosquito netting thrown over the crib will pro- 
tect him, without interfering with his breathing. 

For the first few months an infant should not sleep alone; he re- 
quires the warmth of another person's body. As soon as he has 
learned to do without nursing during the night, he is old enough to 
have his own bed. It should be one with high sides, for several years, 
to prevent falling out. The covering should be light, being only suffi- 
cient for warmth, and if the child is inclined to throw it off, it should 
be fastened by tapes sewed to the corners and tied to the frame of 
the bed. 

CAUSES OF RESTLESSNESS. 

The more natural sleep the better, for a young infant; but sleep 
should never be induced by artificial means. Paregoric, laudanum or 
"soothing syrup" should never under any circumstances be adminis- 
tered. If a child is wakeful and fretful, the remedy lies not in dosing, 
but in discovering and correcting the cause. Sometimes it is too much 
light, or noise. Both should be excluded from the sleeping room; 
nature demands quiet and darkness for perfect rest and development. 
The room should be comfortably warm, but not overheated. About 60 
degrees Fahrenheit is best. Sometimes the wakefulness is caused by 
poor ventilation. As soon as the child is taken from bed, the covers 
and nightclothing should be thoroughly exposed to the air and sun, 
and continue so for several hours. Clean, well-aired clothing for bed 
and body has a soothing effect. 



CARE OF INFANTS. 425 

The bed should not face the light; and an infant ought not to be 
allowed to look at the glare of a fire or a lamp, or a gas jet, as it tends 
to weaken the sight and sometimes brings on inflammation of the eyes. 
In talking to a baby, or attracting his attention in any way, one should 
always stand in front of him ; not behind him, which might cause him 
to squint. 

A HEALTH BAROMETER. 

"The face of a sleeping child,' ' says Dr. Florence Dressier, "is a 
barometer to indicate the state of health. When free from ailments, 
the face is in absolute repose ; the breathing regular, the eyelids com- 
pletely closed, and the lips slightly parted. Any obstruction in the 
nostrils will cause mouth breathing. When the eyelids are not closed, 
it indicates there is pain somewhere. Contraction of the brows means 
a pain in the head ; rolling of the eyeball or twitching of the eyelids, a 
symptom of convulsions; widening of the nostrils in breathing, some 
chest disturbance; drawn lips, abdominal pain." 

The same authority adds, regarding mouth-breathing: "Every 
mother should see that her child does not form the habit of breathing 
through the mouth, instead of through the nose. The nasal passages 
cleanse and warm the air before it is passed to the lungs. In mouth 
breathing, the throat and tonsils become dry and inflamed, disease 
germs are inhaled into the system, and bronchial disorders are in- 
duced. It is said that those who know how to breathe properly in 
malarial regions are exempt from the disease. Mouth breathing may 
be established as a habit, through some slight obstruction in the nasal 
air passages ; but it should be broken up, in order to best preserve the 
strength of the body." 

Stuffiness of the nose in a new-born infant indicates some consti- 
tutional trouble, for which give potassium, one grain in a glass of 
water, a teaspoonful six times a day for a month. It is often a relief 
to apply a little tallow to the bridge of the nose, rubbing it on with 
the finger every night just before putting the child to bed. Or if severe 
and persistent, the stuffy condition may be effectually dispelled by 



426 CARE OF INFANTS. 

hot water. Dip a sponge in water as hot as the child can comfortably 
bear, making sure it is not too hot ; then apply it for a few minutes to 
the bridge of the nose. Carefully remove the hard mucus as soon as 
it is within reach. 

It is better to place an infant on his side to sleep ; the right side at 
one time and the left at another, to avoid disfiguring the contour of 
face and form by constant pressure of the weight on the same side 
while the bones are soft and pliable. If a very young child is left to 
sleep on its back it is in danger of strangulation from possibly throw- 
ing up and being unable to empty its mouth. This has been known 
to occur in some instances; hence the precaution of laying the child 
on his side is an important one. 

THE G&EAT ESSENTIALS. 

Plenty of water for his skin; plenty of fresh, genuine milk mixed 
with water for his stomach (giving him only his mother's milk during 
the first six, eight or nine months of his existence) ; plenty of pure air 
for his lungs, and plenty of sleep for his brain; these are the four 
grand essentials to the perfect health of the infant; and tell me, is 
there any lovelier sight anywhere in this universe than the smiling 
face of a perfectly healthy babe? If so, it must be some treasure as 
yet undiscovered; for neither the rarest flowers nor the most spark- 
ling gems can equal the charm of the dimpled, rosy picture of joy. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

NURSING. 

Sleep for the Newcomer — Rest for the Mother — The Colostrum Needed "by the Babe- 
Child to Nurse After Sleeping — Treatment for Sore Mouth of Mother — Thrush — Refusal 
to Nurse — Cabbage Leaves for the Breasts — Glass Shields a Relief — Retracted Nipples 
— Gathered Breast — Nursing by Rule — The Mother's Food and Clothing — Stimulants 
Cause Disease and Impurity — When It Is Poisonous to Nurse — Everybody to Help 
Mother and Baby. 

AS SOON as the infant is dressed, many nurses are in the habit of 
dosing it with castor oil, or honey of roses and almond oil. This 
is objectionable on many accounts ; it is quite uncalled for so early, and 
it may be altogether unnecessary if they only wait. The infant should 
at once be put quietly to sleep in a cot or bed, so situated that it shall 
not be exposed to drafts of cold air, and that the eyes of the babe 
shall be protected from a strong light, which as yet they are unable to 
bear. It should be allowed to repose for some hours ; when the mother 
having also obtained some sleep, it is proper to place the child to the 
breast. This should always be done within the first four and twenty 
hours, partly to draw out and form the nipple before any hardness 
of the breast occurs and renders that difficult, and partly to encourage 
the flow of milk, for the very effort made by the infant to obtain it will 
in this case excite its secretion. 

It has been supposed by some that the milk first secreted (the colos- 
trum) is improper for the child— that it overtaxes the bowels. The 
fact is, that it differs in an important quality from that which is soon 
after secreted; but then it is a difference which Nature has ordained 
and designed for a wise purpose. The bowels of the infant when born 
are loaded with a dark, almost black secretion, called meconium, of 
which it is essentially necessary that they should be relieved, or it 

427 



428 NUESING. 

proves a source of great irritation. The means for its removal are 
found in the aperient qualities of the colostrum, so that instead of its 
being injurious, it is highly necessary that the child should take it. It 
is therefore only in those cases where the first milk of the parent's: 
breast is not obtained, from the child being put to a wet-nurse or 
from any other cause, and now and then when the first milk fails to be 
sufficiently purgative, that the administration of a gentle aperient is 
justifiable. Half a teaspoonful of olive oil, repeated or not as may be 
necessary, is the best that can be given. 

SECRETIONS OF THE MILK. 

Some women appear to have milk before the babe is born or at its 
birth, but this is not the real milk, since it is devoid of the true milk 
globules, and is called colostrum. The true milk makes its appearance 
the third day after delivery of the child. As a general thing all the 
disturbances incident to the secretion of milk are less when the child 
is put to the breast as soon as possible after delivery. It serves to 
lessen hunger in the child and the danger of fever in the mother. 

Never overload the child's stomach. Better feed it too little than 
too much. Give the child water to drink daily. 

SORE MOUTH IN NURSING MOTHERS. 

This affection may make its appearance as early as one or two 
months before, or as late as one or two months after the birth of the 
child. It is characterized by red eminences, particularly observable 
upon the tongue or soft palate. When first seen, they are small, hard, 
round, whitish eminences, surrounded by a circle of redness. If the 
inflammation should not subside, the papillae soften and ulcerate, and 
the surface of the ulcers is covered with a whitish adhering exudation. 
This ulceration may extend over the entire mouth, and in some in- 
stances to the esophagus and stomach, producing general constitu- 
tional disturbance. The wash recommended in the treatment of Thrush 
should be used. Mercurius viv. and Arsenic, alb. should be given 



NUBSINGL 429 

alternately, a dose before meals and on retiring. If the disease has 
been neglected and the stools have become loose, give Podophyllum 
3x and Leptandrin 2x, alternately as above. Lemonade, ripe fruits 
and certain vegetables are very beneficial. 

SORE MOUTH OF INFANTS. 

Aphthae, Thrush, Catarrhal Sore Mouth.— Several forms of this 
affection are known. It may be a simple catarrhal inflammation of the 
mouth, the lining of which becomes red and swollen, the tongue heavily 
coated and swollen. In other cases vesicles or blisters may also be 
seen in the mouth. Another form is where the glands of the neck are 
swollen, the gums swell and a dirty deposit forms on them, under which 
ulcers occur. 

In genuine Thrush the mouth may be spotted here and there (in 
some cases it is literally covered) with a dirty grayish or white deposit, 
under which the lining of the mouth will be found sore and highly 
inflamed. This form may be complicated with serious derangement of 
the stomach and bowels, and should receive prompt attention. 

These affections may result from uncleanliness, from a delicate 
or scrofulous constitution, or from an insufficiency or an unhealthy 
condition of the mother's milk; in the case of hand-fed babies it may 
be due to giving an unsuitable kind or amount of food. 

Treatment:— If there is much fever Aconite may be given. Mer- 
curius vivus is usually the only remedy required. In very bad or 
neglected cases, when the mouth is ulcerated and dark red or purplish 
in color, when the gums are loose, and the child can swallow liquids 
only, give Arsenic, alb. and Baptisia. If the mouth is very dry and the 
child refuses the breast until its lips have been moistened, the need of 
Byronia is indicated. If the disease has been caused by mercury, give 
Hepar sulph. and Hydrastis lx d. 

If the mouth is so sore that the child refuses to eat or drink, cries 
when food is offered it, and the mouth has a putrid odor, give vegetable 
charcoal tablet three times a day dissolved in water. 



430 NURSING. 

SOKE NIPPLES. 

If a woman during the latter months of pregnancy, were to adopt 
means to harden the nipples, sore nipples during nursing would not 
be so prevalent as they are now. A frequent cause of a sore nipple is 
a result of the babe having the thrush. It is folly to attempt to cure 
the nipple, without at the same time, curing the mouth of the infant. 

Treatment:— A lotion made from % dram of golden seal and the 
same quantity of borax dissolved in two ounces of water. Place a 
piece of muslin over the finger and wash the nursling's mouth every 
morning with the lotion when giving the daily bath. The same treat- 
ment will cure sore nipples. Instead of the water use vaseline % 
ounce, mix well and rub on the nipples night and morning. 

WHEN A CHILD WILL NOT NURSE. 

Some infants are so dainty and particular in their tastes that unless 
the nipples are quite free from any stale perspiration, they will not 
nurse; and who can blame them? Sponge the nipples with a little 
warm water and dry them with a soft napkin. If the child still will 
not nurse, sometimes smearing a little cream on the nipple will tempt 
him; if not, he may possibly be tongue-tied. As to this, the physician 
can easily determine, and if that is the trouble, a trifling, painless 
operation will relieve him. 

MILK FEVER. 

After a first confinement, the breasts are apt to be swollen, painful 
and distended for the first two or three days. They should be rubbed 
every four hours with pure olive oil; or with olive oil and eau de 
cologne, equal parts, the bottle to be shaken each time before using. 
If there is much fever accompanying this condition, it is sometimes 
necessary to use a breast-pump once or twice a day; these are obtain- 
able at any druggist's; but as a rule, the child itself is the best doctor 
in this respect. If the breasts are more than usually full and uncom- 
fortable, however, add to the oil and cologne rubbing the application 



NURSING. 431 

of young cabbage leaves. First cut the veins of the leaves smooth- 
level with the leaf. Take several leaves, enough to cover the entire 
breast; and renew them each time after rubbing with the oil and 
cologne. Let the patient refrain from drinking much fluid while this 
condition lasts; and when the secretion of milk is at its height, she 
should take, during the day, tincture of aconite, four drops in a full 
glass of water ; dose, two teaspoonfuls every hour. 

GLASS NIPPLE SHIELDS. 

These should be used for the child to nurse through whenever the 
nipples are small or retracted ; where they are sore from having cracks 
or fissures upon them ; or should be worn all the time when the mother 
is annoyed by having the milk flowing away constantly, making her 
wet and uncomfortable. In the first two difficulties here mentioned, 
many a mother has been enabled to nurse her babe who would other- 
wise have been obliged to wean it, or to have procured a wet nurse. 
Usually small or retracted nipples will soon be so improved by the 
wearing of the shield, that its use can thereafter be dispensed with. 

OTHER REMEDIES FOR RETRACTED NIPPLES. 

One simple method of drawing out the nipple is to hold the bowl 
of a new clay pipe over it; and another person drawing by suction 
upon the stem, can by repeating the process a few times, permanently 
develop the nipple. Or, apply with a camel's hair brush, or with the 
finger, a zone of collodion an inch or two wide around the nipple, at 
the distance of half an inch. This has proved a very successful remedy. 
It is harmless, and can be applied often till the desired effect is pro- 
duced. 

GATHERED BREAST. 

Taking cold, from carelessness in not covering the breast while 
nursing, is a frequent cause of gathered breast. A sore nipple is an- 
other cause ; as the mother dreads the pain occasioned by putting the 
infant to the sore side, and hence nurses him almost entirely from the 
other breast. The result is, the unused side becomes distended with 



432 NUKSING. 

milk, which condition being unrelieved, leads to inflammation and 
gathering. 

When the gathering is of the mild or superficial kind, it may be 
treated with warm poultices, and nursing may continue; but when 
severe, involving the secreting portions of the breast, the child must 
not be allowed to nurse from the affected side. Great care should be 
taken to avoid this condition. It is most apt to occur in the first month 
of a first confinement; but when neglected, it may recur in later con- 
finements. The first symptom of severe gathered breast is a decided 
chill; the more severe the gathering, the longer the chill lasts. Sharp, 
lancinating pains accompany the shivering; the breast enlarges, be- 
comes hot and painful, and the milk lessens or disappears ; the patient 
is feverish and thirsty, cold one minute, hot the next, and feels as 
though cold water were circulating with the blood in her veins. 
Strength and appetite desert her, and she feels decidedly ill. If a 
physician is called at the very outset, he can often arrest the trouble ; 
but if twelve hours elapse, it is so far advanced that the gathering 
cannot usually be prevented altogether. 

When a woman has once had the severe form of gathered breast, 
she should not in later confinements attempt to nurse her infant unless 
she has the express permission of the doctor to do so, otherwise the 
condition may return. 

A healthy woman with a well-developed breast and a good nipple 
rarely has a gathered breast; and if care is taken, especially during 
pregnancy and the first month after delivery, there is little danger 
of its occurrence. See " Diseases of Women." 

HOW OFTEN TO NURSE. 

It is important for both the child and the mother that the nursing 
be at stated times. During the first month, nurse the child about every 
hour and a half. As the child grows older, gradually increase the in- 
terval between; nursing him the second month every two hours; the 
third month every three hours; and thereafter until weaned, once in 



NURSING. 433 

four hours should be the rule. It is surprising how soon the infant 
will become accustomed to regular hours of nursing, and expect it 
only at these times. It is a great mistake to give the breast every time 
a child cries, regardless of the cause. Hunger is not a chronic condi- 
tion with infants; it comes only at intervals. Let the mother nurse 
the child early in the evening, then if she has thus accustomed him to 
regular hours, he will sleep through the entire evening and leave her 
free for the healthful recreation she should allow herself. 

DRESS AND DIET FOE, NURSING MOTHERS. 

Loose and comfortable clothing should be worn by a woman during 
the nursing period. If not in the habit of wearing flannel underwear, 
she ought at least to have the breast covered with flannel, and to wear 
a piece of soft linen over the nipples. 

Her food should be nourishing, plain and simple. It affects the 
milk, and through the milk, the child's health, materially whether the 
mother eats anything and everything, or regulates her food with care. 
Not only colic and other temporary disturbances, but skin diseases and 
many serious chronic ailments in children can be traced to improper 
food taken by the mother while nursing. The chapter on "Dishes for 
Invalids'' contains several specific hints on foods and drinks best 
adapted to increase the flow of milk. Aside from these, the mother 
who lives on simple, nourishing food, will have the best and purest milk. 
Alcoholic stimulants are especially to be avoided. They are never 
beneficial to mother or child. The child may seem to thrive for a time, 
if these are taken, but in reality the seeds of disease and impurity are 
thus implanted in the blood, to appear later on; while the mother her- 
self suffers from the reaction that follows the stimulation. 

EXERCISE. 

It is of benefit for nursing mothers to go out for frequent walks or 
drives. Outdoor exercise is the best of milk-producers; and next in 
importance comes the exercise of attending to ordinary household 
duties. Work is a fine medicine; real downright bustling occupation 



434 



NUKSING. 



of body and mind is by far the best for the nursing mother, and for her 
child as well. Of course, I do not mean by this, work that overtaxes 
her strength ; but let her keep busy. The home-life is one full of happy, 
absorbing interest to every true wife and mother; and in order that 
she may enjoy her work, let her not forget that a reasonable degree 
of repose and diversion are equally essential. 

WHEN NOT TO NURSE. 

In returning from a walk, if the mother is heated or fatigued, she 
should not nurse her child at once ; let her lie down for a few minutes 
first, even if Sir Baby is peremptory in his commands. This is im- 
portant. And above all, let the mother remember never to nurse an 
infant when she is in a frightened, angry, or other disturbed condition 
of mind. Mental excitement affects the milk like deadly poison. 
Mothers have had sad proof of this fact. Some have nursed their in- 
fants when thus agitated, only to see them go instantly into convulsions 
of fatal termination. Keep the mind serene, and if in spite of your 
efforts to do so there are times when you are much disturbed, wait 
until calmness returns before placing the child to the breast. Under 
no circumstances is it safe to disregard this warning. 

Nursing the child taxes the mother's strength; overwork and worry 
of mind impoverishes the mother's milk in quality and quantity. Her 
household duties, therefore, should not be her first thought; herself 
and her child are of much more importance. Ease and comfort insure 
restful sleep and good digestion to herself and child. Every member 
of the family should do all in his or her power to add to the mother's 
comfort. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

WEANING. 

iiare Requisite — Slum District Vagaries — The Proper Time — Renewed Menses Demand 
Weaning — Ninth Month the Usual fime — Weaning Should Be Gradual — Do Not 
Overload the Child's Stc*nach — Process of Weaning — Use of Aloes — Dispersion of the 
Milk — Injurious to Nurse While Pregnant — When a Wet Nurse is Required — Prepared 
Foods — Use Two Bottles — A Good Dietary for Infants — Both Milk and Water 
Required. 

SO DELICATE is the little life, that when the time comes to change 
baby's food, the greatest care must be observed both in the method 
of making the change and in the food chosen to supply the place of the 
mother's milk. Dyspepsia lasting into adult years may often be traced 
to its origin in the weaning time; while a fruitful cause of the mor- 
tality among young infants in the ignorant classes of the very poor, 
is the utter recklessness with which they are fed all sorts of unsuitable 
foods. 

Workers in the Children's Milk Commission of Chicago tell us that 
one of their greatest difficulties was to convince the mothers of the 
slum districts that pure, new milk was better for their babes than beer 
and bologna sausage, with which delectable fare they had been in the 
habit of nourishing ( ?) their four days old infants! 

Is it any wonder that one-tenth of the babies born die before they 
are a month old, and that one-half die before reaching the age of two I 
It is true, as Dr. Florence Dressier says, that these frightful figures 
can be changed when only such children as are desired are conceived, 
and the right kind of prenatal culture given them; but parents con- 
scientious enough thus to make a favorable beginning for the precious 
life, will be equally ready to follow it up by tender and intelligent care 
during the frail period of early infancy. 

435 



436 WEANING. 



TIME FOE WEANING. 



It will naturally be asked, for how long a period ought a mother to 
nurse her child? The answer to this question will depend entirely on 
i circumstances ; supposing both mother and child are healthy, then we 
would say that nine or ten months is about the proper time. But there 
are many reasons which may render it desirable either to shorten or 
prolong this period in individual cases, and these exceptions will be 
fully alluded to in the course of the work. 

The monthly periods generally reappear from the twelfth to the 
fourteenth month after delivery; and when established, the milk is 
found invariably to diminish in quantity, and also to deteriorate in 
quality; under these circumstances there will be no choice; the child 
must be weaned. If it be exceedingly delicate, a wet-nurse must be 
procured, and one, if possible, about three months after her confine- 
ment. Many children thrive well on artificial foods, many of which 
are an excellent substitute for the mother's milk. 

The time when weaning is to take place must ever depend upon a 
variety of circumstances which will regulate this matter, independently 
of any general rule that can be laid down. The mother's health may, 
in one case oblige her to resort to weaning before the sixth month, and, 
in another instance, from the delicacy of the infant's health, to delay 
it up to or beyond the twelfth. Nevertheless, as a general rule, both 
child and parent being in good health, weaning ought never to take 
place earlier than the ninth (the most usual date), and never be de- 
layed beyond the tenth month. 

I should say further, that if child and parent are both in vigorous 
health, if the infant has cut several of its teeth, and been already 
accustomed to be partially fed, weaning ought to be gradually accom- 
plished at the ninth month. On the other hand, if the child is feeble 
in constitution, the teeth late in appearing, and the mother is healthy 
and has a sufficient supply of good milk, especially if it be in the win- 
ter season, it will be far better to prolong the nursing period for a 



WEANING. 439 

month or two. In such case, the fact of the non-appearance of the 
teeth indicates an unfitness of the system for any other than the nat 
ural food from the maternal breast. 

WEANING SHOULD BE EFFECTED GRADUALLY. 

From the sixth month most children are fed twice or oftener in 
the twenty-four hours. The infant is in fact, therefore, from this time 
in progress of weaning ; that is to say, its natural diet is partly changed 
for an artificial one, so that when the time for complete weaning ar- 
rives, it will be easily accomplished, without suffering to the mother, 
or much denial to the child. It is, however, of the greatest importance 
to regulate the quantity and quality of the food given at a time. If 
too much food is given (and this is the great danger), the stomach will 
be overloaded; the digestive powers impaired; and if the child is not 
carried off suddenly by convulsions, its bowels will become obstinately 
disordered; it will fall away from not being nourished, and perhaps 
eventually become a sacrifice to the over-anxious desire of the parent 
and its friends to promote its welfare. The kind of food especially 
suitable for the teething period, and the mode of administering it, 
will be more fully described in the next chapter. 

HOW TO WEAN THE CHILD. 

When the habits of nursing have been regular, weaning is not a 

difficult task. It should be done gradually. The infant, at nine months, 

will have formed the habit of nursing once in four hours ; say at live 

and nine A. M., one, five and nine P. M., with possibly once during the 

night. After nursing him in the early morning as usual, give him 

for his second meal the prepared food instead of the breast; nurse 

him for his third meal, and give the prepared food for his fourth, at 

five P. M. This is sufficient change for the first week. For the second 

week, give the artificial food three times a day; at nine A. M., one and 

five P. M. ; for the third week let it take the place of nursing entirely 

during the day, allowing him to nurse once or twice during the night; 

and the fourth week withdraw the breast entirely. Usually, in follow- 
25 v. 



440 



WEANING. 



ing this plan there is very little or no trouble with the child. It is well 
toward the last to have in the bed each night a half-pint bottle of new 
milk, previously scalded to keep it from souring, and give a little to 
the child in place of the breast. The warmth of the body will keep the 
milk at the right temperature, and no alcohol lamp or other trouble- 
some contrivance need be used. Let the child sleep in another room 
from the mother, with some responsible person, during these last few 
nights; or if possible, the mother would do well to go away from 
home, or send the child away, for a few days. 

When the mother cannot resist having the child with her, a very 
effective plan is for her to make a paste of powdered aloes mixed with 
a few drops of water ; and smear a little on the nipple just before put- 
ting the child to the breast. One or two such applications are enough 
to give the infant a distaste for the breast, and thus the weaning is 
accomplished. There is no danger that the minute quantity of the 
aloes which may be swallowed can do harm to the child. The mo- 
ment he tastes it he will sputter the bitter stuff out of his mouth. 



DRYING- UP THE MILK. 

It is a very frequent practice to apply cold evaporating lotions to 
the breast for this purpose. It is true they may produce a rapid dis- 
persion of the milk; but they ought never to be resorted to, as they 
frequently give rise to symptoms of an alarming and dangerous char- 
acter. The best and safest local application consists in the following: 

Wash the breasts once a day with a solution of camphor and alco- 
hol, mixed in a pint bottle. Make a weak solution, then smear a piece 
of muslin to cover each breast with yellow bees-wax sufficient to make 
a thick plaster; keep applied to breasts until in your judgment it is 
safe to do without. This treatment keeps breasts softened under the 
plaster and prevents pain, congestion and hardening. 

The diet must be very scanty, and solid nourishment only taken. 
If, however, the thirst is distressing, it must be allayed by frequently 
washing out the mouth with toast and water ; and an orange or two, or 



WEANIN& 441 

a few ripe grapes, may be taken in the course of the day. Following 
up this plan, the distress arising from extreme distension of the 
breasts, if present, will be removed; although several days will trans- 
spire before the milk is thoroughly dispersed, or the remedies can be 
discontinued; and a sensation described by women as of "a draught 
of milk" in the breasts will sometimes be felt two or three times a day 
for weeks afterward. 

SUDDEN DECREASE OF MILK WHILE NURSING. 

If during the nursing period there is any sudden and great diminu- 
tion of milk in the breasts, it generally indicates that the mother is 
again pregnant. The child should then immediately be weaned. For 
a mother to continue nursing after she becomes pregnant is injurious 
to all three— the mother, the nursing infant, and the one unborn. 

INABILITY TO NURSE. 

Sometimes it proves that a mother cannot nurse her child ; her own 
system not being in a sufficiently healthy condition. In such cases the at- 
tempt at nursing brings on such symptoms as the following: Dizzi- 
ness, ringing in the ears, dimness of sight, aching of the eyeballs, throb- 
bing in the head, trembling, faintness, nervousness, hysterics, loss of 
appetite and of flesh, palpitation of the heart, indigestion, constipa- 
tion, sinking sensations of the stomach, pains in the left side, great 
weakness and dragging pains of the loins, increased whenever the 
infant is put to the breast ; pallor, shortness of breath, swelling of the 
ankles. 

After such a formidable list it may be well to state that seldom are 
many of these symptoms present in the same person. Whenever three 
or four of the most serious ones appear, it should be a sufficient warn- 
ing that the mother should discontinue nursing; even though it may 
be necessary, if the infant is not strong enough to wean, to obtain a 
healthy wetnurse to take her place. If the child is reasonably strong, 
however, it is permissible to feed him on artificial food, carefully 
chosen. 



m weaning, 



flAND-FED XNFANT& 



Great ca?e must be used in finding a substitute for the mother's 
milk, to select a food easily digested. Horlick's Malted Milk is one of 
the best of the prepared substitutes. Mellin's Food is another; while 
Ostine, which is a bone and tissue builder, has proved especially valu- 
able in teething, as it is both food and medicine. Farinaceous foods, 
such as cornstarch, arrowroot, etc., sometimes mistakenly given to 
hand-fed infants from the very first, are not suitable until the child 
begins teething. Then they are of value. But the best substitute for 
the mother's milk must always be the food most closely resembling 
it; which is good, fresh cow's milk sterilized, or cream reduced one-half 
with hot water and slightly sweetened with sugar of milk. 

THE NURSING- BOTTLE. 

It is possible to feed the infant from the first with a spoon, and this, 
both for hand-fed infants, and those being weaned, is preferable, be- 
cause more hygienic than a rubber nipple ; but when the nursing bottle 
is used, its absolute cleanliness is of the greatest importance. Do not 
use the rubber tube. Have two bottles, and use them alternately. 
Cleanse the one last used, each time, by placing it, without its nipple, 
in a granite or earthen dish full of warm water and ordinary soda. Let 
it remain there until needed; then rinse it well and it will be sweet 
and clean. The nipple should be washed by hand. Always choose the 
black or red rubber nipple, not the white. The white rubber contains 
poisonous ingredients. 

A good dietary for an infant weaned at nine months is the one fur- 
nished by Dr. Louis Starr. It allows five meals a day, and is as fol- 
lows: 

DIETARY FOR INFANTS WEANED AT NINE MONTHS. 

First meal, at 7 A. M. : Milk, twelve tablespoonf uls ; cream, one 
tablespoonful ; milk sugar, one teaspoonful; water, three tablespoon- 
fuls. 

Second meal, at 10 :30 A. M. : Milk, cream and water, in the same 



WEANINGh 443 

proportion; Mellin's Food, two teaspoonfuls dissolved in the water 
which must be hot. Mix with the cream and milk* 

Third meal, at 2 P. M. : Same as second* 

Fourth meal, at 6 P.M.: Same as first. 

Fifth meal, at 10 P. M. : Same as first. 

From the tenth to the fourteenth month the dietary may be en- 
larged. 

For the first meal, at 7 A. M. : Milk, fifteen tablespoonf uls ; cream, 
one tablespoonful; Mellin's Food, one tablespoonf ul ; water, three ta« 
blespoonfuls. 

Second meal, at 10 :30 A. M. : A breakfast cup of warm milk. 

Third meal, at 2 P. M.: The yolk of an egg boiled with bread 
crumbs, alternated with a teacupful of beef, mutton, or chicken broth, 
containing a few bread crumbs. 

Fourth meal, at 6 P. M. : Same as first. 

Fifth meal at 10 P. M.: Same as second. 

If there should be diarrhoea, boiling makes the milk more tolerable. 

From the fourteenth to the eighteenth month, the five meals a day 
are continued. 

First meal : A slice of stale bread, broken and soaked in a break- 
fast cup of new milk 

Second meal: A teacupful of milk, with a thin slice of buttered 
bread. 

Third meal : A teacupful of meat broth, with a slice of bread. One 
good tablespoonful of rice and milk pudding. 

Fourth meal: Same as first. 

Fifth meal: One tablespoonful of Mellin's Food, with a breakfast 
cupful of milk. 

The above may be alternated with the following: 

First meal : The yolk of an egg lightly boiled, with bread crumbs. 
A teacupful of new milk. 

Second meal: A teacupful of milk, with a thin slice of buttered 
bread. 



444 WUAJNIJm 

Third meal: A mashed baked potato, moistened with, four table- 
spoonfuls of beef tea ; two good table spoonfuls of junket. (Junket is 
milk prepared as follows : heat one pint of milk to a temperature that 
can be borne in the mouth. While stirring gently, add two teaspoon- 
fuls of essence of pepsin. Allow to stand until firmly curdled, and 
serve with sugar and cream.) 

Diet from eighteen months to the end of two and a half years, with 
four meals a day, as follows : 

First meal: A breakfast-cupful of new milk; the yolk of an egg 
lightly boiled ; two thin slices of bread and butter. 

Second meal : A teacupful of milk, with a soda biscuit. 

Third meal: A breakfast-cupful of beef tea, mutton or chicken 
broth; a thin slice of stale bread; a saucer of rice and milk pudding. 

Fourth meal: A breakfast-cupful of milk, with a slice of bread 
and butter. 

The above may be alternated with the following : 

First meal: Two tablespoonfuls of thoroughly cooked oatmeal, or 
wheaten grits with sugar and cream; a teacupful of new milk. 

Second meal : A teacupful of milk, with a slice of bread and butter. 

Third meal: One tablespoonful of underdone mutton pounded to 
a paste ; bread and butter, or mashed baked potato, moistened with a 
good, plain dish gravy ; a saucer of junket. 

Fourth meal : A breakfast-cupful of milk; a slice of soft milk toast, 
or slice or two of bread and butter. 

The foregoing, of course, may serve as a guide on an average. So 
long as a child thrives on milk, he should not be induced to take other 
food. Milk is always best when it agrees with a child. And at what- 
ever age during childhood, he should never receive less than a full pin* 
of milk daily. 

The demand for water increases with years. All a child wants 
will never be too much, provided, always, the water is pure. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

TEETHING. 

Mortality of the Innocents — Stomach Trouble, the Great Destroyer — The Cry of the 
Builders — A Teething Powder of Value — Symptoms of Teething — Teeth Which De- 
cay — Teething the Critical Period — Other Changes Under Way — Teething a Natural 
Process — Soothing Syrups and Cordials — Opiates Slaughter the Babies — A Preparation 
Which is Both Food and Medicine — Experiences of Wide Interest — Great Variety of 
Cases — Something for Mothers to Read. 

ACCOEDING to correct authoritative statistics it appears that 
among children over one-third die before attaining the age of 
twenty-three months ; most of these during the teething period. 

The cause of this great mortality is due to gastric (stomach) de- 
rangement caused by the deficiencies of certain elements in the digestive 
fluids, causing inability to perform the function of digestion and assimi- 
lation; or where the stomach is overloaded. In infants, assimilation 
and digestion are frequently too feeble to extract the necessary ele- 
ments from the mother's milk, or the milk or food it is fed upon, to 
supply the needs of the system. 

THE CALL FOR MATERIALS. 

The process of teething is analogous to that of bricklaying. For 
instance, if the brickmasons are not supplied with the bricks and mor- 
tar, they have to stop working; and as this supply runs low, they call 
out for the materials. So in the body, the builders cry out for materials 
with which to build tissue, and this cry is pain and suffering in one or 
several parts of the body. Do not drug the masons to sleep in order 
to stop their shouting; do not drug the bodybuilders into silence; but 
give them materials, food of the proper kind with which to build bones, 
muscles and teeth. 

This need is supplied in a peculiarly effective way by the teething 

445 



M6 TEETHING. 

powder known as Ostine. As already stated, it has proved to be a 
tissue and bone builder ; a food and medicine combined. 

TEETHING SYMPTOMS. 

The formation of the teeth begins as early as the third month, and 
is indicated by some of the following symptoms : 

Wakefulness and irritability at night; diarrhoea, thin greenish 
stools ; sleeping with the eyes half open ; rolling of the head from side 
to side; flushing of the cheeks; wheezing and rattling in the throat; 
drooling and dribbling of saliva from the mouth; widening of the 
gums; biting the mother's nipples; keeping the fingers in the mouth; 
crying and restlessness; earache and discharge from the ears; dis- 
turbances of the stomach; urinary troubles; hard, dry constipation; 
hard and distended abdomen ; extreme sensitiveness of the scalp ; cor- 
roding discharges from the nose. 

When such conditions appear, begin to give Ostine No. 1 according 
to directions, and perfect development of the teeth is assured and the 
ills and suffering attendant upon the teething period are avoided. If 
given to a well child it will prevent sickness, and if to a sick one, will 
restore to health and comfort. 

How many children are there to-day whose teeth for want of knowl- 
edge on the part of parents, show early decay and irregularity, much 
to their annoyance when they arrive at young manhood and woman- 
hood. Next in importance to the organ of sight, come perfect teeth, 
in order to promote the process of good digestion. 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR NURSING MOTHERS. 

The teething period is the critical period of a child's life. It should 
be the imperative duty of every mother to inform herself as to the best 
methods to insure the health and perfect symmetrical development of 
the child. The period of teething is not necessarily one of illness when 
properly understood. The celebrated Dr. Hufland and many others 
of note say children can teethe in hot weather and remain perfectly 
welL There are other causes producing disturbances. In the child 



TEETHING. 447 

itself great changes are going on that make it peculiarly susceptible 
to harmful influences, to want of judgment in matters of clothing, to 
impure air and exposure to cold. 

Teething is a natural process, as natural as the growth of hair. 
Milk is the natural food for infants, and great injury to children is 
done from giving them solid foods too soon. If the child has to be 
artificially fed, see that the bottle is kept clean and sweet, and give 
the milk pure and good and always warm. 

AVOID OPIATES, 

My many years' experience with infants and children has convinced 
me that Soothing Syrups and Cordials are the child's deadly enemies; 
in which opinion physicians of experience will bear me out. Statistics 
show that 50,000 children die yearly from Soothing Syrup. Most 
Soothing Syrups contain opium or laudanum, which produces a dis- 
turbed and unnatural sleep, characterized by stupor and great drowsi- 
ness; the face assumes a deathly pallor; eyes remain partly open; 
lower lip and chin hang down. The nursling often looks like an old 
man; this condition is followed by constipation and scanty urine, and 
the child is left not infrequently with a weakened constitution and 
intellect for life. The effect of opium or laudanum is to induce the 
above sleep by partially paralyzing the brain centers, thus arresting 
the child's natural development. Our asylums for weak-minded in- 
fants are full of these unfortunates. 

HEALTHY CHILDREN PROMISE ROBUST BIATURITY. 

I give the following facts, such as I know will elicit the thanks of 
loving mothers, because such thanks have been given me, with the 
declaration that the benefits of the treatment mentioned ought to be 
made widely known. These facts refer to a remedy that I have used 
for many years, and which helps the child indirectly in almost every 
respect. It is a valuable food for the healthy child, as well as the best 
all-around remedy for the sick child. I have found that it prevents 



448 TEETHING. 

and cures rickets, spinal curvature and diseases of the brain; over- 
comes hereditary tendencies to scrofula, hip- joint disease and tuber- 
culosis; secures vigorous and symmetrical development of the whole 
body ; causes strong and even teeth to grow without difficulty or pain ; 
gives quiet sleep and prevents fever during the teething period; pro- 
duces a luxuriant and brilliant head of hair; gives glow to the cheek 
and sparkle to the eye; makes fretful and cross children happy and 
cheerful; regulates the appetite and the bowels, giving a desire for 
healthful food and preventing and curing diarrhoea, milk colic, and 
summer complaint, convulsions and brain fever. 

Feed your baby this remedy, which is called "Ostine," and neither 
you nor your servants will be tempted to use dangerous and often 
deadly soothing syrups and other narcotics to secure peace and quiet; 
you and the baby will have rest at night and pleasure by day; and you 
will raise children that will be a joy and a help instead of a care and a 
burden. 

Ostine used as a medicine will cure quickly and positively in emer- 
gencies ; while used as a food it will give steady and happy growth, and 
permanent benefits. 

An interesting case came into my hands for treatment; a child 
three years old, who developed teeth very slowly; the eye-teeth did 
not appear at all. I asked its mother if she would feed this child 
Ostine, promising that the missing teeth would grow and fill out the 
open places. Her mother informed me that the child's father had 
never had eye-teeth and she considered it a family trait. I insisted 
on her feeding the child Ostine No. 1, when to her surprise and that of 
the rest of the family the eye-teeth made their appearance perfectly 
and the child also improved every other way. 

TREATMENT FOE VERY SICK BABIES OR CHILDREN WITH FREQUENT, THIN, 
OR STRONG-SMELLING STOOLS: 

These require the powder dissolved in hot water and given fre- 
quently, every ten or fifteen or twenty minutes, and a hot poultice over 
the bowels, of cornmeal or oatmeal, made into a hot mush. To one 



TEETHING. 449 

pint of meal and one pint and a half of boiling water, add a teaspoonful 
of red pepper and a tablespoonful of good ground mustard, and stir. 
Spread the mixture between two flannel cloths over the entire bowels 
and stomach ; pin on. Do not feed the child if it refuses the breast or 
bottle while very sick, but give it freely of the hot or cold drink made 
from Ostine. Never disturb the child during sleep to give it medicine, 
as rest and sleep are Nature's own restorers. There is only the 
necessity of a harmless remedy to assist Nature. 

DOSE FOR TEETHING INFANTS. 

What can be heaped on a five cent piece. Put in a tumbler of cold 
or warm sweetened water, well stirred. Teaspoonful every ten or fif- 
teen minutes; less frequent as the patient improves. Let the child 
drink freely, if thirsty and feverish. There are no set rules in giving 
the Ostine, only the more sick the child, the more frequently it should 
be given the tumbler of water as directed above ; or the nursing mother 
can take it five grains dry on the tongue, if the child will not take it, 
and benefit herself and the child. 

FOR GROWING BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Many children are handicapped in life by insufficient nutrition or 
inability to fully digest and utilize common foods. In such cases Os- 
tine No. 1 will enable the body to better assimilate its food and will 
often develop latent powers and make school and student life a pleas- 
ure, where formerly it was a drudgery. 

Health is indicated by a continuous state of happy feelings. Ostine 
No. 2 will help to bring this on, and to banish ill temper, lassitude and 
worry. In many cases it will double and treble the capacity for work 
and in this way convert failures into successes'. Ostine No. 2 has been 
prepared according to the private formula of the author. It is partic- 
ularly adapted to counteract the weakening effects of measles, scarlet 
fever, diphtheria and other debilitating diseases. It powerfully aids in 
restoring lowered vitality and in bringing back normal strength and 
vigor. It cures ear discharges, abscesses, rickets, scrofula and such 



450 TEETHING. 

other diseases as are indicative of a general weakening of the body by 
disease or from hereditary causes. 

A boy about fourteen years old, from too frequent swimming in 
cold water, brought on physical debility to such an extent as to almost 
wreck his life. Several swellings developed in both legs below the 
knee, and looked red and angry. On the right leg they developed into 
open sores, pieces of bone came away as large as hazel nuts and were 
honeycombed in their appearance. The left leg was drawn up half 
way to the body. Two of the most eminent surgeons of this country 
had been called in and both agreed that the bad leg would have to be 
amputated to the knee, and on the left leg the large tendon would have 
to be cut, to straighten the leg. I was called in to give my opinion in 
the case before amputation was resorted to. After assuring the father 
that a surgical operation was entirely unnecessary, he willingly turned 
the case over to me. The left leg was entirely straightened and the 
sores healed, new bone formed, nothing but ordinary scars remain, and 
in four months he was a sound boy. The treatment included syringing 
with warm chamomile tea, and hot foot baths, while the sores were 
being washed out. Five grains of Ostine No. 2 was given three times 
a day. 

Another case; a girl of eleven years, an only child, very nervous 
from a small child, developed St. Vitus' dance. Was cured in one 
month with the Ostine treatment. 

Again do I declare that these instances are given in response to 
earnest requests from those whose only interest is to have the world 
know the good which has come into the lives of those dear to them. 
I have willingly laid before the public the products of my skill and 
experience in the matters of baths, breathing, poultices, lotions, exer- 
cises, treatments in emergencies, etc., etc., and I cannot resist the 
urgency which asks publicity for the above illustrations of success 
and joy brought to hundreds and thousands of homes. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

EDUCATION IN THE FAMILY-FROEBEL. 

Mothers Must be Educated, for They Must Educate — "Come, Let Us Live for Our Chil* 
dren" — Women the Natural Educators — The Keynote of Woman's Destiny — An Agita- 
tion that Affects Millions of Men — Education in the Early Years — Mothers Should 
he Equipped — The All-Sided Kinship — Recognition of the Inner Law of Divine Unity 
— The Means of Development at Hand — Help is In and Through Ourselves — The 
Child's Food Influences Character — Appetites Based on Over-Stimulation — Froebel 's 
"Graded Gifts" — The Gentle Unfoldment — Tribute to the Master-Educator — A Glance 
at Swiss Education — A Progressive Country — Pestalozzi's Work at the Author's Birth- 
place — The Fame of Yverdon — Froebel a Visitor — Bringing the Pupils Close to Nature 
— The Pigeon's Nest in the Schoolroom — Marching with the Flag — Effect upon 
National Character. 

UTN ORDER to render the command of Christ effective/' says 
-*■ Froebel, ' ( education in the family must first be reformed, other- 
wise there will be no solid foundation for subsequent education to 
stand upon." It is the mothers that must first be educated, and for 
them chiefly he has said, "Come, let us live for our children." Froebel 
argued that not only are mothers naturally well qualified and have the 
most effective opportunity to guide children, that is, to educate them, 
but that the same must be said of young women, the future mothers. 

STRIKING THE KEYNOTE. 

Having clearly recognized the great vocation of woman as the true 
educator of man, Froebel devoted all his time and energy to the win- 
ing of woman to his educational scheme, of interesting and training 
her in the art, and as far as possible, also in the science of education, 
of persuading her to take up the great task of training man, and to 
recognize in it the sublime mission and heavenly blessedness of a 
woman's life. Women from every side responded to his enthusiasm, 
It was as if he had struck the keynote to which the life and destiny of 

451 



452 EDUCATION IN THE FAMILY- FEOEBEL. 

women were ordained to move, and they all acknowledged that nobody, 
either male or female, has ever recognized and indicated the true voca- 
tion, the life-work, the destiny of woman to form, elevate and bless 
mankind as clearly and as distinctly as did Froebel. He never sided 
with the partisans of what was then called emancipation of woman, 
but he said that woman would have to work out her own salvation by 
her own labor, which was indicated to consist in the work of educating 
man. Great and important are the ideas that agitate our period, and 
this ideal agitation is more widespread than was any similar movement 
in any previous age. The issue of this agitation will determine the 
happiness and peace of millions of men. An inquiry into the cause of 
this agitation pervading all conditions of life, demonstrates that in 
education in general, and particularly in the education of children in 
the first years of life, preceding the age at which they can be received 
at the public school, is the true solution found. All adults, whether 
male or female, ought to show children the right way, neither is it 
enough to merely point out the way without going in it yourself. For 
children will imitate what they see their superiors doing. To guide 
them, we must act as we want them to act. We must live as we wish 
them to live. 

THE BASIS OF FROEBEL'S TEACHINGS. 

Froebel was an educator of the feelings ; he reaches those feelings 
that are the germs of the intellect and will. His practical education 
was not confined to the earliest of childhood, but embraced the entire 
impressionable period of human life. It would be an interesting task, 
had I the space, to sketch how he kindles the religious sense in earliest 
childhood, the sense of complete all-sided kinship with all created 
things, and gently fans it into a mighty blaze of universal good will. 
How skilfully he enables this child to gather knowledge and skill from 
the burdened fields of experience and life, and to sow these experiences 
for the sustenance and uplifting of generations to come. How com- 
pletely he blends in the bosom of a family the interests of the individ- 



EDUCATION IN THE FAMILY- FROEBEL. 453 

uals, of fellow men, of mankind, and leads all to an ever creative God. 
He imparts to his pupils a thorough knowledge of the inner connection 
and oneness of all things. He fills them with an eagerness for wider 
and higher knowledge, for a broader and deeper efficiency in whatever 
practical calling may be theirs, implants a sense of inner responsible 
manhood which is the measure of true worth in every station of life. 
The groundwork of all his teachings is our oneness and unity with the 
infinite. In his "Education of Man" he says: 

ci Education consists in leading man as a thinking being to a pure, 
unsullied life, a conscious and free representation of the inner law of 
divine unity. To be wise is the highest aim of man, is the most ex- 
alted achievement of human self-determination. The object of educa- 
tion should be to lead men to see and know the divine, spiritual and 
eternal principle which animates surrounding nature. Thus with the 
aid of this understanding he may rise to the highest knowledge not 
alone of man, but of all created things, to a knowledge of the truth that 
the infinite is revealed in the finite, the eternal in the temporal, the 
celestial in the terrestial, the living in the dead, and the divine in the 
human. The truth of this conviction is the sole foundation of all in- 
sight and knowledge. Education, and its practical uses, whether per- 
sonal or universal in application, should be applied to causes, not 
effects. It is by far easier than we think to promote and establish the 
happiness and welfare of mankind. All the means are ample and at 
hand, yet we see them not. We see them, perhaps, but do not notice 
them. In their simplicity, naturalness, availability and nearness, they 
seem too insignificant, and we ignore them. We seek help from afar, 
although help is only in and through ourselves, hence at a later period 
half or all our accumulated wealth cannot procure for our children 
what greater insight and a clearer vision discern as their greatest good. 
This they now must miss, or can enjoy but partially or scantily. It 
might have been theirs without effort, as it were, had we in their child- 
hood attended to it a little more. 



454 EDUCATION IN THE FAMILY -FKOEBEL. 

POWER OF PHYSICAL HABITS. 

' ' Simplicity and frugality of food and in other physical needs dur- 
ing the years of childhood enhance man's power of attaining happiness 
and vigor— true creativeness in every respect. In the years of child- 
hood the child's food is a matter of very great importance, not only 
at the time— for the child by its food may be made indolent or active, 
sluggish or mobile, dull or bright, inert or vigorous— but indeed for 
his future life. For impressions, inclinations, appetites, which the 
child may have derived from his food, the turn it may have given to 
his senses and even to his life, as a whole can only with difficulty be 
set aside even when the age of self-dependence has been reached; they 
are one with his physical life, and therefore, intimately connected with 
his spiritual life. Who has not witnessed in children, over stimulated 
by excess in food, appetites of a very low order, from which they can 
never be freed? Appetites which, even when they seem to have been 
suppressed, only slumber, and in times of opportunity return with 
greater power, threatening to rob man of all his dignity, and to force 
him away from his duty. If parents would consider that not only 
much individual and personal happiness, but even domestic happiness 
and general prosperity depend on this, how differently they would act. 

KINDERGARTEN GIFTS AND GAMES. 

Froebel's beautiful system of "graded gifts" for children, begin- 
ning with the simplest, a bright-hued ball, is in harmony with his 
teaching that the mental, the spiritual and the physical faculties should 
be gently aided in their natural unfoldment, together, as the flower 
opens toward the light. First comes the education of the sense of color, 
of form, of size; then the faculties of order, proportion, balance, con- 
structiveness, aided by the wooden cubes and other toys fitted to the 
infant's growing comprehension. The singing games, as the child 
grows older, are full of life, and of love for all living creatures. 

In the adoption of the "sloyd" system, or manual training, in many 



EDUCATION IN THE FAMILY- FROEBEL. 457 

of our public schools today, we have a continuation of the kindergar- 
ten principle. Busy hands and brains, together with a sympathetic un- 
derstanding of the rights and feelings of others, make happy, useful, 
well-balanced lives ; and for the knowledge of this principle many lands 
are indebted to the master educator, who has thus transmuted irksome 
tasks into delightful pastimes, by teaching the art of loving one's em- 
ployment, whether it be work or play. The world's debt to Froebel is 
indeed a great one. (See biographical sketch of Froebel, page 32.) 

A GLIMPSE OF SWITZERLAND. 

Everyone should be proud of his native country, and I am no ex- 
ception. It has of ttimes been said that Switzerland, the place where 
freedom and schools were born, is the model republic of the world, and 
that she owes her admirable system of laws to her methods of educa- 
tion. Switzerland has entered into treaties of perpetual peace with 
the European nations; she has the referendum, by which the laws 
enacted by her congress are referred back to the people for indorse- 
ment ; and her children are all educated by the state for the protection 
of the state. Of some 485,000 heads of families, 465,000 own landed 
or other property. Capital punishment has been abolished, and in 
none of the public institutions may anyone strike another a blow. These 
well-known facts produce an ideal impression. The study of Swiss 
education as a means of character-building is declared by Hezekiah 
Butterworth and other noted writers to be most profitable and inter- 
esting ; and while we cannot deal with the subject at length, the pres- 
ent chapter would be incomplete without mention of Pestalozzi, that 
great philosopher and philanthropist from whom Froebel learned many 
of the principles which afterward took form in his kindergarten 
methods. 

At Burgdorf, my birthplace, Pestalozzi established the first public 
school in the world in the interest of common school education. His 
system of instruction was a wonder. It was founded largely on these 
principles, that "the individuality of the pupil is sacred to the teacher' T 

26 V. 



458 EDUCATION IN THE FAMILY-FEOEBEL. 

and that "life must be taught from life," or by example, or sense im- 
pressions. (See picture and sketch of Burgdorf, page 30.) 

THE CASTLE SCHOOL. 

At Yverdon, in the old castle in view of the placid Neuchatel and 
under the low, dark walls of the Jura, Pestalozzi founded his institute 
to train teachers for the work of public school education, after his new 
philosophy and method. His schools continue there now and in the 
same rooms where he used to teach. The fame of Yverdon filled 
Europe. The institute was visited by the learned and titled from 
many lands. Here came Froebel, and caught the leading ideas of the 
Pestalozzi philosophy and changed them into the system called kinder- 
garten. His earliest lesson in a school that he attended in childhood 
was: "First seek ye the kingdom of God and his righteousness and 
all other things shall be added unto you." The word "first" haunted 
him for many years and he resolved to found a system of education 
upon it, in which soul culture should be the molding influence. He saw 
that the child creates life by his ideals, and that it was the true prin- 
ciple of education to lead the child to put into habit the highest ideals, 
to make a moral education of the playground in the natural way, and 
to mold the soul to the highest expression of life, human and divine. 

In some respects, in following FroebePs methods, country schools 
and families have a marked ad\*&ntage over those in cities. The plan 
of "Nature Study," now so generally approved, can be followed with 
greater ease, because of wider opportunities, in country places; ^nd 
parents themselves can also be teachers, studying with their children 
the ever-unfolding wonders of creation. 

EDUCATIONAL WALKS. 

This plan belonged to the methods of both Pestalozzi and Froebel. 
These teachers took their pupils to places for the study of local his- 
tory, to the flowers for botany, to the rocks for geology, and to nature 
for all nature's lessons of life. It is well to have flower gardens, both 
at home and at school, as well as to plant seeds in the schoolroom, which 



EDUCATION IN THE FAMILY-FROEBEL. 459 

is done in many kindergartens, following the Froebel plan. The out 
of door schoolroom, the school-house of nature, is the true field of 
sense impression. Pestalozzi and Froebel took nature for their text- 
book as far as it was possible. As Froebel established his historical 
school at Marienthal, so a kindergarten should be as near as possible 
to nature's heart. 

FroebePs plan of associating children with little animals and birds, 
in order to teach them the brotherhood of all creatures, the oneness of 
life, and how to treat dumb animals, has found illustration in many 
kindergarten schools, but in some places has not been regarded as a 
very essential feature of his method. But this is an essential method 
of heart education. ' ' I once entered a kindergarten school in a West- 
ern city," said Miss Farmer of Greenacre, "and I saw that a pigeon 
was running around on the floor among the children. He was gather- 
ing food for the little ones that were cared for in a nest in the same 
room, on which sat the mother pigeon. The pigeons had built their 
nest in the room and were rearing their young there, in an atmosphere 
of protection. The children of such a kindergarten would grow in 
sympathy with the whole animal world." Certain South American 
patios (inner courtyard) are very lively in this respect, where birds 
may mingle with the children in bowers of flowers. 

PATRIOTIC EDUCATION. 

This is finding a place in most American kindergarten schools. As 
in Switzerland, the children march with the flag, and sing the songs 
of Justice and Liberty. The white-bordered flag of the Freedom 
League of the Pan-American Congress has found a place in some 
churches, and merits a like recognition as an object lesson in FroebePs 
schools. It is a prophesy and a sense impression of large meaning. A 
traveler in my native land gives this interesting description: "I saw 
the young scholars at Yverdon come marching out of the old castle 
where Pestalozzi had taught and where Froebel appeared as a pupil. 
They bore the cross of Helvetia crowned with roses, the flag of the 



460 EDUCATION IN THE FAMILY- FROEBEL. 

historic glories of Switzerland, and it went gleaming away under the 
linden trees down towards the purple, sun-bosomed Neuchatel, to the 
music of the patriotic airs of the Swiss, played by a band composed of 
children. It would have delighted the heart of Pestalozzi to have seen 
this sight a century after he had gone to rest amid the flowers." 

(See biographical sketch of Pestalozzi, page 31.) 

The traveler in Switzerland can take but one view of the influence 
of this system of soul culture in childhood upon the national charac- 
ter. The strength of the system lies in that it tends to eliminate 
hereditary evil tendencies and starts the moral growth rightly, while 
the nature is susceptible. 






CHAPTER XXXIII. 

CAEE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 

Teach Sacredness of the Body — Knowledge Not a Crime — Grave Risks in Ignorant Mar- 
riage — Teach the Children — A Training that is Needed — Shall Their Training be 
Pure or Vile? — Answer Their Questions — Implant High Ideals — The Mother the 
Guardian of Childhood — A Fatal Delay — Do Not Let the Weeds Grow — Every Home 
an Institution for Treating Undeveloped Children — Parents Should Prepare Before 
and After the Birth of the Child — Mildness, Firmness, hut not Haste in Governing — 
Speak Gently — Interpose New Interests — Appeal to the Heart — The Quickest Way — 
Children are Psychological — Be What You Teach — Study Their Motives— Hold Their 
Sweet Confidence — Knowledge is Safety — Teach Beautiful Truths — One Mother's Ex- 
perience — Keeping a Mother "at Bay" — Bedtime Confidences — "Mother, How Can 
I Keep Bad Thoughts Out?" — "Turn Out the Sparrows" — "Mothers Help a Lot." 

SACBEDNESS of the body should be taught early to children. It 
is through ignorance on this very important subject that too often 
the young are entrapped to their ruin. Parents and teachers fre- 
quently act too much as if innocence could last for life, and as if knowl- 
edge were a crime. Professor B. C. Wilder, M. D., of Cornell Univer- 
sity, in writing on this subject, says : 

"So grave are the errors of ignorance in the married relation that 
In my opinion to encourage or even to allow young people to marry 
without receiving such instruction, is as foolish and wicked as to place 
in the hands of a child a loaded pistol or a paper of poison, for no 
other reason than that it wanted them and had reached a certain age, 
and yet to offer no advice or warning respecting the danger of their 
employment. ' 9 

THE TIME FOR SPECIAL TRAINING. 

We could hardly quote from higher authority than Dr. Wilder, but 
how are young folks to know that of which the professor finds them 
ignorant if they are not taught in their childhood? We prepare our 
children for trades and professions by special training. Why, then, 

461 



462 CAEE AND TBAINING OF CHILDEEN. 

should we neglect to give them competent knowledge of their genetic 
nature, which has such a lasting influence on their physical, mental 
and moral natures? 

To leave them to learn from the " voice of nature' ' belongs to the 
ignorant past; and since we cannot keep them from knowing, there is 
left us no choice in the matter. We are to decide whether the child 
shall receive right and pure instruction from parents and teachers, or 
learn through impure instructions from chance associates. The sacred- 
ness of the body should be taught early, and as soon as the child begins 
to ask questions in regard to the origin of life the parent or teacher 
should answer them truthfully. Surround the subject with purity cf 
thought, expressed in words of simplicity— and at the same time 
awaken in the child an admiration for the goodness and wisdom of the 
Creator; there will be such a sacredness in the subject that instead of 
demoralizing there will remain an elevating and refining influence. 

BE FIRST IN THE FIELD. 

"If children are intelligently instructed as soon as curiosity is 
awakened," says Professor Wilder, "there will be no chance for in- 
flaming their imagination. The most earnest desire is to promote 
social purity, by imparting right knowledge, hallowedly, a firm belief 
in the wisdom and goodness of God, and to keep the pupil's thoughts 
directed to the highest ideals of manhood and womanhood." 

GOD'S GUARDIAN OF CHILDHOOD— THE MOTHER. 

Mind-unfolding and character-building alone in the hands of this 
guardian shape the destiny of nations. Many fond parents refrain 
from correcting their children in the early periods of their life, think- 
ing that they are too young to appreciate or understand moral training, 
and that when they become older their intellect or reason will enable 
them to distinguish between good and bad— and that thus they may 
be addressed, and a reform effected through the reason. They com- 
mit a great mistake, as would the gardener who should allow weeds 
to grow up among his flowers, thinking the weeding can be accom 






CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 463 

plished better wh^n the flowers had attained their growth. Every in- 
dividual who has had experience with plants knows that the longer 
weeds are allowed to grow, the more difficult becomes the extermina- 
tion of them. Let it not be forgotten that from the earliest age the 
feelings, as well as the intellectual faculties, may be educated, and that 
young children show no less differences in their characters than in 
their talents ; they are patient or obstinate, indolent or lively, timid or 
courageous, affectionate, attached to, or careless about others. There- 
fore, if parents allow the propensities of their children unrestrained 
activity during their infancy under the belief that when they are older, 
they may be reasoned out of their evil ways, they commit a great folly. 
There are no absolutely perfect children in this world; all of them 
need restraining in some things and stimulating in others. Every 
home should be an institution for the treatment of imperfectly de- 
veloped children. Every father and mother should supply themselves 
with the best of books and instructions on child-training. 

HINTS ON GOVERNMENT. 

Before and after birth of the child mildness, kindness and firmness 
should characterize all the worfs and actions of a parent. And never 
be hasty in punishing a child. Forgetfulness, unsteadiness and wan- 
dering thought are the natural faults of children ; therefore, when they 
are not wilful, the faults are to be mentioned softly and gained upon 
by time. A child is full of life, and it is not easy for him to stop play- 
ing immediately at the command of the parent. Instead of speaking 
in a harsh voice, or angry tone, it is better to speak gently, or perhaps 
it is better to present some new object to attract his attention. If it 
is necessary to punish a child never do it in anger. "Appeal to the 
heart and feelings of your children at a very early age, with warm, 
tender emotions," says Froebel, "and when once powerfully appealed 
to and profoundly stirred the heart will apprehend the right much 
more quickly than will the head. When the feelings are deeply agi- 
tated, they will, overflow and compel the assent of the intellect." 



464 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 



To cultivate obedience, do it through love ; take the time to instruct 
and teach by example. Children are psychological ; they feel a thing, 
more than they reason. Reason comes later with them. For instance, 
if a child, no matter how young, insists upon doing contrary to your 
wishes, don't say, "I'll whip you," "I'll do this," or "I'll do that if 
you don't mind," but be resolved, and firm in carrying out your re- 
solve. 

THE BETTER WAY 

to train a child into goodness, to become one continual joy in the home 
and in school, gentle to his associates and playmates, truthful and 
conscientious in all dealings with his fellowmen, is to be all that your- 
self. Desirable habits in children must be formed in infancy; the child 
at this age is as plastic clay in the hands of the molder. We must 
study children's motives more than their methods. For instance, two 
children may be doing the same thing, one from a bad motive, the other 
From a good motive. Be very gentle with them at all times. Carefully 
study the child's disposition and learn all of his ways that you may 
more readily understand just how to manage him. Be in perfect sym- 
pathy with him. Do not fail to abundantly caress and speak gently to 
him at all times, and never, under any circumstances, no matter what 
the provocation, allow yourself to scold or strike at him. This act 
would be at variance with and defeat our plans. 

WINNING THE CHILD'S CONFIDENCE. 

Parents should hold the sweet confidence of their children; they 
must not fail to be their first teachers of the truths pertaining to their 
sexual life. The natural and practical training and instruction that 
should be imparted to them on this subject is not beyond their intel- 
lectual ken. Knowledge is not only power, but safety; truth is always 
beautiful, and the laws that pertain to the physical life of man and 
woman may be explained to children, and in such a way as to inspire 
them with more parental love and a profounder self respect than they 
could otherwise ever experience. Thus to win the child's confidence 
in the mother is the strongest possible shield against wrong teaching. 



CAEE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 465 

I know of no more impressive way of illustrating this fact and the 
methods to be used, than by giving my readers, by permission, the fol- 
lowing article by Eleanor Davids, author of "The Notebook of an 
Adopted Mother." (E. P. Dutton & Co.) 

"SAFEGUARDING A CHILD'S PURITY.' * 

"Nearly every mother whose children have grown from babyhood 
to school age, finds with a pang that they are hearing and seeing things 
which are impure and degrading. That is to say, she does if she is a 
vigilant mother and one who keeps the confidence of her children. If 
she is one of those unfortunately optimistic parents who feel their 
children safe anywhere and so is not on the alert, her peace of mind 
may remain unbroken; or if she is one who does not invite confidence, 
she may still possess that ignorance which is bliss. 

"Suppose she is a young mother, prepared by no training for the 
duties of maternity and restrained by the conventions of past genera- 
tions from discussing her perplexity with others, what is she to do? 
In the hope that one mother 's experience may be helpful to others, this 
article is written. 

"My sons are adopted children, the younger of whom is now about 
seven years old. He came to us with his mind unsullied, a strong, 
manly, upright child of five. The other was eight when we took him 
and had already heard much that was impure. Before he came the 
younger boy had heard from me in a wholesome and matter-of-fact 
way the story of birth. I would hardly have chosen to tell it so early, 
but he saw and heard something on a farm which forced the situation. 
Although he had been warned by a playmate not to tell his mother, 
the habit of opening his heart and mind to me was so strong that he 
disregarded the injunction as soon as he got home, beginning cau- 
tiously and talking freely when he found that it was safe. He sat on 
my lap and I explained to him that it was not a matter to be discussed 
with other children, but that he could speak of it at any time to his 
father and me. I also told him that mothers knew much more about 



466 CAEE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 

such things than boys, and that whenever he wished to understand 
anything better, he should ask me and I would try to explain it to him. 

A NEW INFLUENCE. 

"When the older boy came, he was evidently full of the idea that 
a mother was to be kept at bay. A boy was to mind her, or at least 
to make her think that he did; in her presence he must appear to be 
respectful, gentle and innocent; what he said or did behind her back 
did not matter, so long as he was not found out. He was not a boy of 
vicious nature. On the contrary, he had a clean and wholesome heart 
and an unusually fine mind, but he was encrusted, if one may so ex- 
press it, with wrong habits of thought and action. The two children 
were brothers and devoted to each other, in spite of long separation. 
It was a question which would influence the other, and the younger 
one had his parents' help and prayers on his side. 

"I knew from a conversation between the two, which I overheard, 
that the older could not be persuaded that it was safe to attempt con- 
fidential relations with me. I knew, too, that he was sharing some 
things he had learned with his little brother, who would come and re- 
peat them to me. I was very glad when the chance came one day, as 
we were examining some tiny dor-mice, to speak in the most matter- 
of-fact way of their pre-natal life. The older boy looked scared and 
turned away his head. I looked at the mice in my hand while I said, 
'You knew, didn't you, dear, about such things?' 

"He hesitated and the younger boy nodded reassuringly. 'Why 
don't you tell her?' he cried. 'It's always right to talk about things 
to your mother.' 

"Then there was a frightened assent, and I went on to speak of 
some of the wonders of early nutrition until there was a comfortable 
break in the dangerous barrier of reserve. Then I changed the sub- 
ject, feeling that he would soon make his own advances to confidential 
relations with me, and I was not mistaken. 

"My boys are still little boys. I cannot be sure what the coming 
years may bring, but know that at present they are pure and whole* 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 467 

some in purpose, not removed from the impurity of this world, but 
fighting contamination as wisely as they can and telling their mother 
what most children exert themselves to hide. 

"Not many weeks ago the elder boy called me into their room as 
I was leaving, after tucking them in safely for the night. ' Mother,' 
he said, 'I wish you'd tell me how I can keep from thinking of the bad 
things the boys at school say. Somehow, when they're in my mind, 
I can't help thinking about them.' 

"Now if there ever is a time when my words fall on respectfully 
attentive ears it is at bedtime, when the distractions of the day are 
over and the evening prayer has begotten a sweet seriousness in my 
two exceedingly active boys. So I ignored the waiting engagement and 
sat down on the foot of the older boy's bed. 

THE MIND A BIRD HOUSE. 

" ' Which do you like best,' I asked, ' English sparrows or wrens? 5 

" ' Wrens, of course,' said the boys. 

" 'If you had a bird house with room in it for just one pair of 
birds, you would rather have wrens than English sparrows?' 

" 'Course!' 

1 ' ' Pretend your mind is a bird house, and when there are sparrows 
in it, turn them out. If the bird house is empty, they will come back 
and build again. Get some wrens quickly to live there, and the spar- 
rows will stay away. They are the bad thoughts, you know, and the 
wrens are the good ones.' 

"This illustration appealed to the boys because we see a yearly 
struggle between wrens and sparrows for a bird house on our place. 
Then I told them the story of King John and the Abbess Ana, with 
the quick and true retort of the abbess : 

'We cannot hinder the passing 

Of a wild- winged bird overhead; 

But well may we keep her from building 
Her nest in our garden,' she said. 



468 



CAEE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 



"In telling I was careful to adapt it to their understanding, and 
they were much interested and amused by these lines, which they re- 
peated after me. 

' ' ' But how can I make myself think good thoughts ? ' persisted the 
elder boy. 

" ' Pretend you are taking a railroad trip, and think what you can 
see from the car windows/ I suggested, 'or read in one of your books 
or do some work just as hard as you can.' 

" 'I don't see why you need to ask mother such questions when 
she is tired,' remarked the younger boy indignantly, sitting bolt up- 
right in his bed. 'There's lots of interesting things to think about. 
You might make believe you are a frog. I like to do that. ' 

"Both boys say, 'It isn't any fun to think or say low things. Only,' 
they add, 'some of the boys say them when we are around, and then 
we can't forget.' 

"The older boy once asked a question and answered it himself, as 
follows: 'Who invented all the bad words? Perhaps it was Cain. I 
suppose he was about the worst man, and he lived so long ago he could 
get them started.' 

"This suggested heroic measures to the younger brother, and he 
said: 'I tell you what I think would be a good thing, mother. Just 
kill all the bad people, and then there wouldn't be anybody to spoil our 
being good, don't you see?' I am not sure that I made them under- 
stand that moral fiber comes by resistance of evil, not by isolation 
from it, but I did my best. Poor little victims of the depravity of 
others! How much vigilance and skill is required of parents to rob 
such evils of their fascination! And how necessary it is that the first 
childish attempts at conversation about such things should not be dis- 
couraged by scathing rebukes or a simple injunction not to talk about, 
'such dreadful things.' My little boy was right when he added to a 
remark of mine that 'it is God who makes people good.' ' Y-yes, I know 
it's God, but mothers help a lot!' " 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 

One of Nature's Kequirements — Time of Coming — Little Disturbance in the Healthy- 
Symptoms Vary — Duration of Process of Change — A New Phase of Life — New Hopes 
and Aspirations — Treatment of Various Phases — Prolong the Menses — Use of Syringe 
— Physical Changes in Men — Decline of Sexual Passions — Sometimes an Abnormal 
Increase — Wrong of Discrepancy of Years in Marriage — Upbuild the System — Beau- 
tiful at Fifty as at Fifteen — Your Thoughts Govern — Decay Not Inevitable — "The 
Impertinence of Dense Ignorance" — Refinement and Improvement the Order of 
Nature — The Silent Demand Brings Supply — The Evolution of Mind-Power — Thoughts 
Give Expression to Face and Form — A False Alarm May Paralyze — How to Bring 
Dyspepsia — Defy the Age — Thoughts — Attracting Health — Miracles of the Present. 

CHANGE of life is one of nature's requirements and should be 
as perfectly normal as the change between the ages of ten and 
fourteen. The change occurs, in this climate, when females arrive at 
about forty-five years of age, or at some other time between forty and 
fifty years. 

CESSATION OF THE MENSES OE CHANGE OF LIFE. 

With healthy females, this usually brings little or no serious dis- 
turbance of the system ; the change approaching gradually, the menses 
becoming less profuse, and perhaps less frequent, until they cease. 
But in other instances there is a tendency to hemorrhage; even pro- 
fuse flowing is not uncommon. And when there is no hemorrhage, 
especially if the courses stop suddenly, there is frequently dizziness, 
headache, nervousness, flashes of heat, disturbances in the urinary 
secretion and discharges, debility, pains in the back and lower part 
of the abdomen, with heat ; sometimes there is a violent itching of the 
external parts. 

SYMPTOMS OF THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 

vary in different individuals according to their respective tempera- 
ments. In this change women present the plethoric and the nervous 

469 



470 THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 

type. There is a large number of more or less distressing symptoms 
or forms of disease which result from the change of life ; among these 
may be mentioned bloody urine, piles, nose-bleed and other hem- 
orrhages ; in other cases we meet with diarrhoea, weakness of the stom- 
ach, flatulence, vomiting and other derangements of the digestive canal, 
which are accompanied by constipation and profuse sweats. Some 
complain of rheumatism, or enlargement of joints ; others suffer from 
various eruptions, such as tetter of the genital organs or erysipelas. 
The most distressing maladies which break out at this change of 
life are ulcers and polypi of the uterus and cancer of the breasts. 
The duration of the change may embrace a few months, or two years ; 
with a few it extends five to seven years. One peculiarity of the 
change of life is that many diseases are cured or disappear in conse- 
quence of this change, and when the change is past in men or women 
they enter upon a new phase of life with new hopes and aspirations' 
toward the present and the future. 

TREATMENT. 

This period of life under our treatment is attended with very little 
danger, as the various disturbances which result are generally soon 
relieved by our remedies and instructions. Sunlight, outdoor air and 
exercise are all-important in the treatment. Occupy the sunniest room 
in the house, practice the breathing exercises given (see index) ; elevate 
the spirit by pleasant, uplifting reading; avoid gloomy people or gloomy 
thoughts; try to regulate the bowels by eating properly; employ hot 
enemas once or twice a week to the womb and drink water freely. 
Hot bathing— Turkish baths, vapor and hot water baths are of benefit, 
and cold or hot compresses to the afflicted part. In case of hot flashes 
and heartburn, a disordered stomach is generally found to be the cause. 
A rest from eating for twenty- four hours, with a grain of nux vomica 
(see index), taken two or three times a day will overcome these difficul- 
ties, with inhaling and exhaling deeply for three minutes two or three 
times a day, which will further the cure and rest the body. If prostra- 



THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 471 

tion of the nervous system occurs, a good tonic to enrich the blood is 
necessary— nux vomica and ferrum phos. (See Materia Medica and 
Index.) A very hot bath once a week in preparing for a normal change 
is indispensable. If bath tubs are not obtainable, use cabinet baths, or 
wash the body all over in a very warm room, and use a copious injec- 
tion once a week with a little borax. During the period marked by the 
change of life there should be as little indulgence in the sexual rela- 
tion as possible ; none at all is preferable. It is better to invite men- 
struation as long as possible; by doing this you exercise a most ex- 
cellent safe-guard against congestion, inflammation and development 
of uterine tumors, growths and cancers. Injections should always 
be used after a leucorrhoeal discharge; these injections will prevent 
the itching, pain and smarting from which women suffer so much dur- 
ing this period. When change of life is so far advanced that the 
secretions from the womb and vagina are sharp, hot, and acrid, causing 
increased soreness and inflammation, use the fountain syringe; com- 
mence with water comfortably warm, gradually increase the tempera- 
ture until quite hot; medicate the water with a tablespoonful of borax 
or teaspoonful of boracic acid. At night insert one of the capsules 
into the vagina, mentioned in " Materia Medica." Have no fear that 
the hot water douche will induce hemorrhage ; on the contrary, it is a 
safe-guard against it. Dress the feet warmly and clothe the body 
comfortably. 

With the appearance of the first symptoms is the time to begin 
treatment, which should be continued until the change is established. 
This prevents abnormal growths, tumors, polypi, cancers, flooding and 
many other conditions which render the change critical and even dan- 
gerous to many women. The reason so much suffering is experienced 
during this period is that women do not understand how to properly 
prepare the system to undergo the change. /j 

The above treatment will not only cure you, but when employed 
and persevered in, change of life becomes as normal as the change 
from girlhood to womanhood. 



472 THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 



CHANGE OP LIFE IN MAN. 



As at puberty, so at the age of forty to fifty, men as well as women, 
pass through important physical changes. At the "change of life" 
men suffer from nervousness, insomnia, impaired sight, pain at the 
base of the brain, and often there is some tendency to softening of the 
brain and insanity. It is noticeable that suicides among men are more 
common at this age than at any other. The generative organs be- 
come less vigorous, their functions grow weaker, and nature's period 
of sexual decline has begun. This does not necessarily imply that the 
general health also declines to any permanent extent. With care, 
a man may be hale and vigorous for thirty or forty years after these 
disturbances have passed. But it is of the greatest importance to ab- 
stain from sexual intercourse during this period. It is as essential to 
the well-being of the man as to that of the woman. As the "change 
of life" approaches in both men and women about the same time, it 
is usual for the sexual passions to decline. This is nature's process; 
the reproductive organs have finished their work, and the feelings 
dependent upon them are no longer required. Sometimes, however, 
there is an abnormal increase of the passions instead of their cessa- 
tion, and they become more violent than at any other time of life. This 
unnatural condition should be looked upon with serious apprehension, 
and an experienced physician consulted, for it may be the indication 
of some grave disease. Sexual gratification at this time is a common 
cause of intensifying all the numerous inconveniences and disorders 
attendant upon this period in men. This fact is beyond all question; 
hence continence is not only recommended, but should be regarded as 
one of the most essential hygienic measures to insure a safe and rapid 
transit through this period of sexual decline. 

I repeat, to abstain from sexual intercourse during this period is 
of the greatest importance and as essential to the welfare of men as 
of women. 

Inflammations, congestions, diseases of the prostate gland, blad- 






THE CHANGE OF LIFE 473 

der and kidneys are among the afflictions which become active and 
troublesome and necessitate careful treatment. It follows naturally 
that a great discrepancy of years in the marriage relation is a viola- 
tion of the laws of nature. The marriage of a man of fifty to a young 
lady of twenty is wrong to both. 

TREATMENT FOR MEN IN CHANGE OF LIFE. 

The hygienic treatment is the same for men as for women, which 
includes hot water baths, Turkish baths, Eussian steam baths; hot 
water baths once a week are indispensable to prevent or cure the many 
degrees of congestion and inflammations of the prostate gland, blad- 
der, testicles and kidneys. When taking an ordinary hot water bath 
make the water hotter and hotter to induce perspiration, wash off well 
with soap and water, then let in the cold water gradually to close the 
pores sufficiently to prevent taking cold. Do not use physics that 
would increase the discomforts; do not indulge in wine or beer or 
liquor of any kind. Upbuild the system with fruits, cereals, grape 
juice, milk, soups, plain food well cooked, meats once a day. 

The author has for many years employed a capsule of her own 
compounding for chronic constipation, painful hemorrhoids, piles, ul- 
ceration, prolapsus of bowels, sterility, impotence, nocturnal emissions 
and obstinate diseases of the prostate gland with most satisfactory 
results. (See Materia Medica and Diseases of Women.) I subjoin the 
following beautiful thoughts on health and beauty, by Prentice Mul- 
ford. The possibility to be as beautiful at fifty as at fifteen, is here 
explained from the mental point of view : 

HOW THE MIND BUILDS THE BODY. 

"Your thoughts shape your face and give it the expression peculiar 
to it. Your thoughts determine the attitude, carriage, and shape of 
your whole body. 

"The law for beauty and the law for perfect health are the same. 

Both depend entirely upon the state of your mind ; or, in other words, 

on the kind of thoughts you put out and receive. 
27 v. 



474 



THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 



"Ugliness of expression comes of unconscious transgressions of 
a law, be the ugliness in the young or old. Any form of decay in a 
human body, any form of weakness, anything in the personal appear- 
ance of men and women which makes them repulsive to you, is be- 
cause their prevailing frame of mind has made them so. 

THE INBORN LOVE OF BEAUTY. 

"Nature plants in us what some call 'instinct'; we call it higher 
reason, because it comes of a finer set of senses than our outer or physi- 
cal senses; a dislike to everything that is repulsive or deformed, or 
that shows signs of decay. This is the inborn tendency in human na- 
ture to shun the imperfect, and see the relatively perfect. 

"Your higher reason is right in disliking wrinkles or decrepitude 
or any form or sign of the body's decay; for the same reason you are 
right in disliking a soiled or torn garment. Your body is the actual 
clothing, as well as the instrument used by your mind or spirit. It 
is the same instinct, or higher reason, making you like a well-formed 
and beautiful body, that makes you like a new and tasteful suit of 
clothes. 

THE MISTAKE OF THE AGES. 

"You and generations before you, age after age, have been told 
it was an inevitable necessity, that it was a law, and in the order of 
nature for all times and for all ages, that, after a certain period of 
life, your body must wither and become unattractive, and that even 
your minds must fail with increasing years. You have been told that 
your mind had no power to repair and recuperate your body— to make 
it over again, and make it newer and fresher continually. 

"It is no more the inevitable order of nature, that human bodies 
should decay as they have decayed in the past, than that a man should 
travel only by stage-coach as he did sixty years ago ; or that messages 
should be sent only by letter as they were fifty years ago, before the 
use of the electric telegraph ; or that your portraits could be taken only 
by the painter's brush as they were half a century ago, before the dis- 



THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 475 

covery that the sun could imprint an image of yourself on a sensitive 
surface prepared for it. 

"It is the impertinence of dense ignorance for any of us to say what 
is, or what is to be, in the order of nature. It is a stupid blunder to 
look back at the little we know of the past, and say, that it is the uner- 
ring index finger telling us what is to be in the future. 

THE MIND CAN KEEP THE BODY VIGOROUS. 

"You are not young relatively. Your present youth means that 
your body is young. The older your spirit, the better you can preserve 
the youth, vigor, and elasticity of your body. Because the older our 
mind, the more power has it gathered from its many existences. You 
can use that power for the preservation of beauty, of health, of vigor, 
of all that can make you attractive to others. You can also uncon- 
sciously use the same power to make you ugly, unhealthy, weak, dis- 
eased, and unattractive. The more you use this power in either of 
these directions, the more will it make you ugly or beautiful, healthy 
or unhealthy, attractive or unattractive; that is, as regards unattrac- 
tiveness for this one existence. Ultimately, you must, if not in this, 
in some other existence, be symmetrical; because the evolution of the 
mind, of which the evolution of our bodies from coarser to higher 
forms is but a crude counterpart, is ever toward the higher, finer, bet- 
ter and happier. 

"That power is your thought. Every thought of yours is a thing 
as real, though you cannot see it with the physical, or outer eye, as a 
tree, a flower, a fruit. 

"Your thoughts are continually molding your muscles into shape 
and manner of movement in accordance with their character. 

"If your thought is always determined and decided, your step in 
walking will be decided. If your thought is permanently decided, your 
whole carriage, bearing, and address will show that if you say a thing 
you mean it. 

"If your thoughts are permanently undecided, you will have a 



476 THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 

permanently undecided gesture, address, carriage, or manner of using 
your body; and this when long continued, will make the body grow 
decidedly misshapen in some way, exactly as when you are writing in 
a mood of hurry, your hurried thought makes misshapen letters, and 
sometimes misshapen ideas; while your reposeful mood or thoughts 
makes well-formed letters and graceful curves as well as well-formed 
and graceful ideas. 

TELL-TALE LINES ON THE FACE. 

"Yoit are every day thinking yourself into some phase of character 
and facial expression, good or bad. If your thoughts are permanently 
cheerful, your face will look cheerful. 

"If most of the time you are in a complaining, peevish, quarrelsome 
mood, this kind of thought will put ugly lines on your face ; they will 
poison your blood, make you dyspeptic, and ruin your complexion; 
because then you are in your own unseen laboratory of mind, generat- 
ing an unseen and poisonous element, your thought ; and as you put it 
out or think it, by the invisible law of nature, it attracts to it the same 
kind of thought-element from others. You think or open your mind 
to the mood of despondency or irritability, and you draw more or less* 
of the same thought element from every despondent or irritable man 
or woman in your town or city. You are then charging your magnet, 
your mind, with its electric thought-current of destructive tendency, 
and the law and property of thought connects all the other thought- 
currents of despondency or irritability with your mental battery, your 
mind. 

THE EFFECTS OF ALARM. 

"Your mind oan make your body sick or well, strong or weak, ac- 
cording to the thought it puts out, and the action upon it of the thought 
of others. Cry ' Fire ' in a crowded theatre, and scores of persons are 
made tremulous, weak, paralyzed with fear. Perhaps it is a false 
alarm. It is only the thought of fire, a horror so acting on the body, 
as to turn the hair white in a few hours. 



THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 477 

HOW THE MIND CONTROLS DIGESTION. 

"Angered, peevish, worried, or irritable thought affects injuriously 
the digestion. A sudden mental shock may destroy one's appetite for 
a meal, or cause the stomach to reject such meal when eaten. The 
injury so done the body suddenly, in relatively few cases, by fear or 
other evil state of mind, works injury more gradually on millions of 
bodies all over the planet. 

"Dyspepsia does not come so much from the food we eat, as of 
the thoughts we think while eating it. We may eat the healthiest bread 
in the world, and if we eat it in a sour temper, we will put sourness in 
our blood, and sourness in our stomachs and sourness in our faces. 
Or if we eat in an anxious frame of mind, and are worrying all the 
time about how much we should, or should not, eat, and whether it 
may not hurt us after all, we are consuming anxious, worried, fretful 
thought-element with our food, and it will poison us. If we are cheer- 
ful and chatty, lively and jolly, while eating, we are putting liveliness 
and cheer into ourselves, and making such qualities more and more a 
part of ourselves. If our family group eat in silence, or come to the 
table with a sort of forced and resigned air, as if saying, each one 
to himself or herself, 'Well, all this must be gone over again, ' and 
the head of the family buries himself in his business cares or his news- 
paper, and reads all the murders, suicides, burglaries, and scandals for 
the last twenty-four hours, and the queen of the household buries her- 
self in sullen resignation or household cares, then there are being 
literally consumed at that table, along with the food, the thought-ele- 
ment of worry, murder, suicide, and the morbid element which loves 
to dwell on the horrible and ghastly ; as a result, dyspepsia in some of 
its many forms will be manufactured all the way down the line, from 
one end of the table to the other. 

NOTICE THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH. 

"If the habitual expression be a scowl, it is because the thoughts 
behind that face are mostly scowls. If the corners of the mouth are 



478 THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 

turned down, it is because most of the time the thoughts which govern 
and shape the mouth are gloomy and despondent. If a face does not 
invite people and make them desire to get acquainted with its wearer, 
it is because that face is a sign, advertising thoughts behind it which 
the wearer may not dare to speak to others, possibly may not dare to 
whisper to himself. 

"HURRY-THOUGHTS" CAUSE STOOPING. 

"The continual mood to hurry, that is, of being in mind and spirit 
in a certain place long before the body is there, will cause the shoul- 
ders to stoop forward; because in such mood you do literally send 
your thought, your spirit, your real though invisible self to the place 
toward which your power, your thought, is dragging your body head 
first; through such life-long habit of mind does the body grow as the 
thought shapes it. A ' self-contained ' man is never in a hurry; and a 
self-contained man keeps or centers his thought, his spirit, his power, 
mostly on the use or act of the present moment with the instrument his 
spirit uses— his body. The habitually self-possessed woman will be 
graceful in every movement, for the reason that her spirit has com- 
plete possession and command of its tool, the body; it is not a mile 
or ten miles away from that body in thought, and fretting or hurrying 
and dwelling on something at that distance from her body. 

POWER OF EXPECTATION. 

"If you expect to grow old, and keep in your mind an image or 
construction of yourself as old and decrepit, you will assuredly be 
so. You are then making yourself so. 

"If you make a plan in thought, in unseen element, for yourself, 
as helpless and decrepit, such plan will draw to you unseen thought- 
element, that which will make you weak, helpless and decrepit. If, on 
the contrary, you make for yourself a plan for being always healthy, 
active and vigorous, and stick to that plan, and refuse to grow decrepit, 
and refuse to believe the legions of people who will tell you that you 



THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 479 

must grow old, you will not grow old. It is because you think it must 
be so, as people tell you, that makes it so. 

THE MIND A MAGNET. 

"If in your mind you are ever building an ideal of yourself as 
strong, healthy, and vigorous, you are building to yourself of invisible 
element that which is ever drawing to you more health, strength and 
vigor. You can make of your mind a magnet to attract health or 
weakness. If you love to think of the strong things of Nature, of 
granite mountains, heaving billows and resistless tempests, you at- 
tract to you their element of strength. 

"If you build yourself in health and strength today, and despond 
and give up such thinking and building tomorrow, you do not destroy 
what in spirit and of spirit you have built up. That amount of element 
so added to your spirit can never be lost ; but you do for the time, in 
so desponding, that is, in thinking weakness, stop the building of your 
health structure ; and although your spirit is so much the stronger for 
that addition of element, it may not be strong enough to give quickly 
to the body what you may have taken from it through such despondent 
thought. 

"Persistency in thinking health, in imagining or idealizing yourself 
as healthy, vigorous, and symmetrical, is the corner-stone of health 
and beauty. Of that which you think most, that you will be, and that 
you will have most of. You say, 'No!' But your bedridden patient 
is not thinking, 'I am strong;' he or she is thinking, 'I am so weak.' 
Your dyspeptic man or woman is not thinking, 'I will have a strong 
stomach.' They are saying, 'I can't digest anything;' and they can't, 
for that very reason. 

DO NOT PET YOUB MALADIES; DRIVE THEM OUT. 

"We are apt to nurse our maladies rather than nurse ourselves. 
We want our maladies petted and sympathized with, more than our- 
selves. We have a bad cold, our very cough sometimes says to others, 
unconsciously, 'I am this morning an object for your sympathy. I 



480 



THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 



am so afflicted.' It is the cold then, that is calling out for sympathy. 
Were the body treated rightly, your own mind and all the minds about 
you would say to that weak element in you, 'Get out of that body;' 
and the silent force of a few minds so directed would drive that weak- 
ness out. It would leave as Satan did when the man of Nazareth im- 
periously ordered him. Colds and all other forms of disease are 
only forms of Satan, and thrive also by nursing. Vigor and health 
are 'catching' as well as the measles. 

PRESENT-DAY MIRACLES. 

"There are more and more possibilities in Nature, in the elements, 
and in man and out of man; and they come as fast as man sees and 
knows how to use these forces in Nature and in himself. Possibilities 
and miracles mean the same thing. 

"The telephone sprung suddenly on 'our folks' of two hundred 
years ago, would have been a miracle, and might have consigned the 
person using it to the prison or the stake. All unusual manifestations 
of Nature's powers were then attributed to the Devil, because the 
people of that period had so much of the Devil, or cruder element, in 
them, as to insist that the universe should not continually show and 
prove higher and higher expressions of the higher mind for man's com- 
fort and pleasure." 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

INFLUENCE OF WOMAN IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 

"Woman is Liberty; and Liberty is Woman" — Virtue Better than Commercialism — 
Home-Lovers and Home-Builders — Entertaining Class in "Domestic Economy" — Wom- 
an's Strong Personality a Factor in History of Nations — Two Types — The Time for 
the Larger Work — "Mothers in Israel" — The Outreaching Motherhood Spirit — The Up- 
to-Date Grandmothers — Women in the Broader Work — Police Matrons — Probation 
Officers — Tenement Inspectors — Managers of State Institutions — Social Settlements — 
Visiting Nurses — The Strain that Breaks Down — Art Work — Horticulture — Music — 
Drama — Literature — $5,000 a Year — Advertising Solicitors — Reporters — Text-Books — 
Home Interests Not Neglected — Teaching — Pulpit — Law — Medicine — Politics — Trade 
Unions — Powerful, Yet Womanly — The Ideal Teacher and the Ideal Mother — "Saint 
Courageous" — Expecting the Best — "I Should Blame Less and Praise More." — The 
Little Figure of Pathos — Keeping the Heart-Way Open. 

VICTOR HUGO, the great French philosopher's last words uttered 
and inscribed for the statue of the Goddess of Liberty for the 
World's Fair of 1893, were: "The statue of itself is nothing, but the 
idea it conveys is everything. For woman is liberty, and liberty is 
woman. ' ' 

A country's welfare depends on the kind of men and women it pro- 
duces; on whether or not they are healthy in body, true in word and 
deed, brave, sober, chaste ; to whom morals and virtue are of more im- 
portance than gold. 

Such men and women as these come from homes where right physi- 
cal, mental and moral training are a part of the very atmosphere from 
earliest childhood; where intelligence rules, and love gives to each 
member of the family the incentive to do his or her best for the sake 
of the others. The nation's welfare is safest when in the hands of 
home-lovers and home-builders. 

"PLAYING HOUSE" TO SOME PURPOSE. 

One interesting experiment tried in St. Louis, which Felix Adler 
was anxious to have continued and extended, was that of holding 

481 



482 INFLUENCE OF WOMAN IN PUBLIC AFFAIES. 

children's classes in Domestic Science. No class contained more than 
nine pupils. Boys and girls in turn personated the father and the 
mother, the oldest child and the youngest child, of a family; and in 
this way they were taught the ethics of the home. 

Is it not clear that children so trained would go out into the world 
when they arrive at maturity, better fitted to make the whole world 
homelike than if such training were omitted? That they would have 
a true insight and rare practical resources to bring to bear on the 
great problems of public life 1 For a nation, after all, is only a larger 
home. 

THE LEADERSHIP OF WOMAN. 

Woman's part in national events has been of no little importance. 
History is full of the recorded instances of the rise and fall of na- 
tions, based on the strong personality of highly individualized women. 
All women have an influence on the public affairs of their country; 
not only when, like Joan of Arc, or Frances Willard, they lead hosts 
to battle for a nation's rights or for a noble cause, political, philan- 
thropic or moral; but also when they help to raise the standard of 
purity and right living by making their home-lives so fragrant with 
beauty, peace and serenity that it is a benediction to enter their doors. 

There will always be the two types of reformers; those who aim 
directly by means of argument, through press or platform, to change 
existing conditions, and those who merely radiate good from the home- 
center, often without knowing or intending that their lives shall in- 
spire changes for the better in others. Both classes are needed; and 
in some rare, grand lives the two methods are combined. 

LIFE'S LARGER WORK. 

When a woman has passed through the change of life, she often 
feels new impulses and powers urging her to a wider activity. Her 
rich experience, deepened sympathies and the mother-love which has 
been the gift of years, now inspire her to fields of endeavor as well 
suited to her life at this time as were the seemingly smaller, yet in- 



INFLUENCE OF WOMAN IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 483 

finitely precious, calls upon her during the child-bearing and child- 
rearing period. Her children are now well grown; but she is called, 
perhaps, to become one of the "mothers in Israel," a woman who leads, 
inspires and teaches many of the younger members of her own sex, or 
of both sexes, giving of her rich storehouse of life-experiences that 
they and society may be the gainers. The leaders in that world-wide 
movement, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, are largely 
of this type. It is the instinct of motherhood extended to the outside 
world; the impulse of protective love which would shield others, and 
especially the young, from danger, that actuates these women in their 
many-sided work for humanity's upbuilding. The work against the 
saloon and gambling den, the establishment of rescue missions, day 
nurseries, mothers' meetings, work among soldiers and sailors, the 
Flower Mission, anti-cigarette leagues— these and some forty other 
lines of work included in the organization's duties, are all expressions 
of the mother-nature in behalf of the suffering and tempted ones on 
every hand. 

SINGLE WOMEN WITH MOTHER-HEARTS. 

Nor is this impulse felt only by those women who have had children 
of their own. Who will think for one moment of denying that Frances 
E. Willard had the true mother-instinct? Many noble women who do 
not marry have hearts large enough and warm and tender enough, to 
take in every suffering soul that is struggling towards better condi- 
tions. They are mothers mentally and spiritually. We often find 
them in the ranks of teachers ; and no one should enter that profession 
who does not heartily love the work and partake in some degree of 
this instinct of motherhood. To be single is not, for these, a reproach ; 
rather is it a sign of consecrated service no less to be honored than 
if it were shared by another. No less, but indeed, no more ; for ser- 
vice is service, whether lonely or shared. 

A PLEA FOR THE GRANDMOTHERS. 

While we welcome and love the Young People's Societies of Chris- 
tian Endeavor, the Epworth Leagues and other organizations for en- 



484 INFLUENCE OF WOMAN IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 

listing the young in every good work, yet it is after all to the mother- 
heart that these and all socially upbuilding forces must look for their 
lasting and steadying inspiration. 

Let the yonng be encouraged to thus organize; it is a safeguard 
and great help to themselves and blessing to the world; but when the 
years have brought both greater leisure and riper experience, the 
organized work to be done in late maturity will be found of a char- 
acter not to be despised by eager Young America. I plead for the 
wider spread of the recognition now just beginning to be accorded to 
the healthy, well-read, up-to-date grandmothers of the twentieth cen- 
tury ! They are better fitted in every way to lead in public movements 
than they were when twenty years younger; and better fitted by far 
than were their own grandmothers before them. Hygienic living and 
the advance of public intelligence have done much for woman. Let her 
thank Grod and take courage— and go on to the still greater achieve- 
ments yet before her. 

WHAT WOMEN ARE DOING TO-DAY. 

Let us take a brief glimpse of woman's present status in the world 
of work apparently apart from the home. (I say " apparently' ' for 
it will be found that the home-life touches and inspires the outside 
activities at almost every point.) 

CHECKING JUVENILE CRIME. 

In New York and other cities women are doing valuable service as 
police matrons, and especially in juvenile courts. Chicago has fifteen 
" probation officers " in this work. They follow up their court work 
by visiting in the homes. They gather the children into boys' clubs, 
see that they are sent to school, and exercise a watchfulness only 
equalled by their tact. 

PROMOTING HEALTH IN TENEMENTS. 

Interesting facts have been made known regarding women's work 
in connection with Health Boards, showing that they make the best 



INFLUENCE OF WOMAN IN PUBLIC AFFAIES. 485 

of tenement inspectors. In New York the overcrowded conditions have 
led to a public control of housing absolutely military in its nature, the 
landlord having almost no control left. Many women are in the ser- 
vice. They must pass a competitive examination, and are engaged 
solely on their merits. Tenement inspection is so closely allied to 
housekeeping that many a trained woman is glad to take such a posi- 
tion when a man would not. 

IN PHILANTHROPIC WORK. 

Women are often engaged as managers of state charitable institu- 
tions; and excellent ones they have proved in the great majority of 
cases. They should be well equipped, and to insure this, they should 
be liberally paid; for the welfare of many persons depends on the 
kindness, good sense and efficiency of the manager. Women's tendency 
toward sympathy for the poor and helpless makes them often well 
adapted by nature for this work; but it- requires practical training 
as well. The various social settlements managed by women— of which 
Hull House, Chicago, is a fair sample— are proving a powerful factor 
in solving the problems of the slums. 

VISITING NURSES. 

Sixteen districts in Chicago, containing eight hundred families, are 
blessed with one very important kind of relief work among the poor; 
that of visiting nurses. There are twenty of these nurses. All are 
engaged by the year, working eleven months, and some of them giving 
half their income to philanthropic work. The requirements and quali- 
fications for the position are stringent, and Miss Harriet Fulmer said, 
in her account of the matter, that women who do this district work are 
apt to break down physically more quickly than other nurses, as the 
strain is more continuous, there being practically no rest between 
cases. 

IN THE FINER ARTS. 

Women excel in the arts pertaining to the home, and virtually have 
a monopoly of most of them. In art work for stores there is a large 



486 INFLUENCE OF WOMAN IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 

field. As illustrators, designers and sculptors women are winning 
laurels. A new opening for the sex is found in practical horticulture ; 
also in landscape gardening, there being a demand for trained super- 
visors in many private and public grounds. In the schools of music 
and acting, women outnumber men in the ratio of 3 to 1. 

In the field of literature women's achievements are more marked, 
perhaps, than in any other. In fiction they closely rival men, but the 
proportion of women regularly employed on newspapers is small. The 
East is more conservative than the West, on this point. In magazines 
it is altogether different. A woman manuscript reader at MeClure's 
receives a salary of $5,000 a year; and the list of woman editors who 
have won success is legion. Women obliged to earn their own living 
are said to do the best work, as a rule. 

In securing advertisements for papers, women show a marked 
capacity; and many of them are finding the work of a newspaper 
reporter both broadening and remunerative. The scholastic tendency 
to deprecate newspaper writing is to be deplored. Lilian Bell's best 
work was a collection of articles which first appeared in newspaper 
columns ; and the same is true of Lilian Whiting and others. 

The number of women who write text-books for grammar schools 
exceeds the number of men, and the quality excels. In high-school 
text-book production, men and women are about equal ; in college books 
women lag behind, but in quantity rather than in quality. 

PROFESSIONAL AND SOCIETY WOMEN COMPARED. 

It is urged by thoughtful people that the home does not suffer bj 
reason of a woman's selection of one of the higher arts as a calling; 
that as a matter of fact, the society woman sees less of her children 
than does the professional woman when she is at home; and that no 
true woman ever permits enthusiasm for her profession to crowd out 
the home interests. ' ' The favorite, as well as the most suitable, place 
for a mother to exercise her musical talent," says Madam Zeisler, "is 
at the cradle of her child." 



INFLUENCE OF WOMAN TO PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 487 

In teaching, in pulpit work, in law and medicine, in politics, trade 
unions and as inventors and investors and brokers, women are pressing 
forward, and Columbia has many reasons to be proud of her daugh- 
ters. It is not difficult to foresee the increasingly marked influence 
which woman is to have, in the near future, on public affairs. With 
it all, let us hope and firmly believe that she will retain her strong, 
sweet womanliness. Then, as she advances, it will be indeed to make 
the whole world homelike. Let the peculiarly close and beautiful 
sympathy which existed between Frances E. Willard and " Saint 
Courageous/ ' as she called her mother, be a more impressive lesson 
than any words of mine as to the possibility and sweet naturalness of 
combining the two types of what is greatest in womanhood; the ideal 
teacher and the ideal mother. Grand as was the lifework of the great 
reformer, it should not be forgotten that it was the outcome of a wise 
mother's loving and consecrated training, from her children's infancy, 
and we may be certain, long before. 

THE POWER OF EXPECTATION. 

"She never expected us to be bad children,' ' said Miss Willard of 
her mother, in giving her childhood reminiscences. "I never heard 
her refer to total depravity as our inevitable heritage ; she always said, 
when we were cross, ' Where is my bright little girl that it is so pleasant 
to have about ? Somebody must have taken her away and left this little 
creature here with a scowl upon her face.' 

"She always expected us to do well; and after a long and beau- 
tiful life, when she was sitting in sunshine calm and sweet at 87 years 
of age she said to one who asked what she would have done differently 
as a mother if she had her life to live over again, 'I should blame less 
and praise more.' She used to say that a little child is a figure of 
pathos. Without volition of its own it finds itself in a most difficult 
scene ; it looks around on every side for help, and we who have grown 
way-wise should make it feel at all times tenderly welcome, and nourish 
it in the fruitful atmosphere of love, trust and approbation. 



488 INFLUENCE OF WOMAN IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 

HOUSE LIFE FULL OF INSPIRATION. 

"* * * "With such a mother my home life was full of inspira- 
tion; she encouraged every outbranching thought and purpose. 

RELATION OF BROTHER AND SISTER. 

i i * # * when J usec i to play out of doors with my brother, and 
do the things he did, she never said, 'Oh, that is not for girls,' but 
encouraged him to let me be his little comrade; by which means he 
became the most considerate, chivalric boy I ever knew, for mother 
taught him that nothing could be more for her happiness and his than 
that he should be good to his little sister. * * * 

"* * * To my mind the jewel of her character and method with 
her children was that she knew how without effort to keep an open 
way always between her innocent heart and theirs; they wanted no 
other comforter; everybody seemed less desirable than mother. If 
something very pleasant happened to us when we were out playing 
with other children, or spending an afternoon at a neighbor's, we 
would scamper home as fast as our little feet would carry us, because 
we did not feel as if we had gained the full happiness from anything 
that came to us until mother knew it." 

There is no mother but has it in her power to control these things 
if she will. Is it any wonder that with such a beginning the life of 
Frances Willard has proved a benediction that, unhindered even by 
death, will go on for ages in its far-reaching and purity-inspiring 
course, making glad the waste places of the world? 



CHAPTER XXXVL 

DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

Health the Prerequisite for Woman's Best Work — In Full Possession of Her Powers- 
Then the Ballot Will Gravitate to Her — Where Health and Woman's Political Power 
Combine — Home Treatment for Many Troubles — "The Will to he Well" — Health and 
Joy to Replace Suffering — Disease Tends to Recovery — Falling of the Womb — Other 
Displacements — Influence of Thought — Inflammation and Congestion of the Uterus — 
Tumors, Polypus and Cancer of the Womb — Ulceration — Painful Menstruation — 
Suppression, Delay, Profuseness, etc. — Miscarriage — Leucorrhoea — Gathered Breast. 

BEFOEE woman can bring her best powers to the task of trans- 
forming and reforming public conditions, she mast first come 
into the full possession of those powers by acquiring freedom from 
the many ills to which her sex is so largely and so often unnecessarily 
subject. If half the effort were put forth to enlighten women on the 
vital subject of health that is now expended in teaching them that 
they need the ballot, there is no doubt that the right to vote would 
soon be gladly accorded them; for we should then have a race of 
women whose combined physical and intellectual strength would make 
them well adapted to give counsel in our legislative halls. It is a 
significant fact that those states which accord the greatest privileges 
to women in public affairs, are the very ones celebrated for their health- 
producing and health-restoring powers. 

In considering some of the common ailments peculiar to woman, 
many of them will be found to yield to intelligent home treatment, and 
the more serious ones can be greatly helped or alleviated by combining 
the proper hygienic measures with the medical treatment required. 
The most skilled physician often cannot effect a cure without the aid 
of the patient's will and full co-operation. Let women, therefore, cul- 
tivate "the will to be well" and refuse to be appalled by the lists of 
disorders and symptoms here given for the ultimate purpose of bring- 
ing health and joy where suffering now reigns. 
28 v. 489 



490 



DISEASES OF WOMEN, 



FALLING OF THE WOMB 



is very common and the result of complex causes. When the prolapsus 
is only partial the uterus descends somewhat into the vagina. When 
complete, it passes down through the vagina and protrudes through 
the labia. Causes; There are many causes that lead to prolapsus, 
among which may be mentioned excessive weight of the womb from 
tumors; dropsy of the bowels; falling heavily upon the nates; weak- 
ening of the uterine ligaments, and the relaxing of the vaginal walls. 
The vaginal walls may become relaxed by too frequent child-bearing, 
a persistent leucorrhceal discharge, habitual constipation, excessive 
sexual intercourse and a lacerated perineum. Other causes are self- 
abuse ; general debility, brought on by worry or anxiety of mind ; in- 
correct living; falls or strains; weight of heavy clothes on the hips; 
garters suspended from a band around the waist; or corsets. Symp- 
toms: Painful and irregular menses, pain in the back and limbs, 
melancholia, headache, bearing down feeling. Ulcers may be present, 
from the size of a pea to that of a half dollar. 

There is an inherent tendency in muscular fiber to contract, there- 
fore uterine displacements, in their early stages, will recover readily 
upon the removal of the cause. It is different, however, when by 
inflammation, congestion, or tumors, the uterus has become badly 
diseased. It frequently occurs after child-birth, that the uterus is very 
much prolapsed, but if the patient lies in bed a proper length of time, 
there are rarely any ill effects from it afterwards, as the tendency of 
all diseases is to recovery, under proper management. 

Treatment : Hot douches should be used every other day, and con- 
tinued during the two weeks following the menstrual flow. If caused 
by debility, take iron, 3d attenuation, three grains after each meal. 
Also take macrotin every morning. If the result of falls or strains, 
take one or two applications of electricity, the positive pole placed 
over the pubes and uterus, negative pole over the sacrum. If arising 
from tight lacing and heavy weight on the hips, remove the cause and 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 491 

treat as for general debility. Electricity, if scientifically applied, is 
beneficial in all disorders of the sexual organs. If suffering from cold 
feet, restore circulation by bathing them frequently in hot water, then 
in cold. Dissolve a pint of salt in the hot water. Abstain from ice- 
water, ice cream and salt pork. Frequent cheerful company, live much 
out of doors, work in the garden, and do any and all kinds of light 
work, in and out of the house. Keep away from all gloomy, despondent 
people, and from all disagreeable, depressing influences. Make use of 
deep, abdominal breathing while standing or lying. Train the mind 
to look on the bright side of things, read cheerful books, and live in an 
atmosphere of music and sunshine. The habit of thought has a marked 
influence for good or ill, in this disease. In fact, not only falling of 
the womb, but the different displacements, under the titles of Ante- 
version, Retroversion, Anteflexion, Retroflexion— all come under the 
treatment of Mental Therapeutics (see Index). Compresses at night 
over the sacrum or lower part of the back and over the womb, are of 
benefit. Dress the feet warmly and wear skirts with the weight sus- 
pended from the shoulder. At night draw the feet upwards, lie on 
the back, grasp the abdomen over the womb with the hands, and mas- 
sage upwards; use hot injections once a week as hot as can be borne 
with one-half dram powdered golden seal in the water. Bathe and 
massage the body frequently; that it should be done daily is almost 
an absolute necessity. Hot water baths, gradually made cooler, with 
brisk friction, are best. Eat wholesome, digestible food in small quan- 
tities. The best diet consists of fruits, cereals, soups, cereal coffee, 
hot milk, and plenty of good drinking water. I have long prescribed 
Uterine Capsules, to be inserted at night if there is pain, inflammation 
qr discharge of any kind. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE UTERUS. 

Causes: Heavy lifting, tight lacing, and hereditary tendency. 
Symptoms: Pain in the back, pain in the groin, bearing-down pain 
over the bladder. Treatment: Perfect rest, lying in a recumbent 



492 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

position. Pulsatilla is the remedy. Hot injections should be applied 
once a day; also electricity scientifically applied. One treatment is 
often sufficient. For a chronic, inflamed condition, where ulceration 
and leucorrhoea exist, hot injections twice a week should be taken, using 
one gallon of water. Sepia and macrotin in alternation. Deep breath- 
ing must be practiced, and all clothing suspended from the shoulders. 

CONGESTION 1 OF THE UTERUS, 

like that of other organs, is a disease of frequent occurrence, and is 
caused by the accumulation of blood in the veins and capillaries. The 
congestion is generally combined with infiltration into the cellular 
tissue of the uterus, producing oedema, which, in some cases, is very 
considerable. 

Causes: There are a variety of causes which may produce this 
condition of .the uterus ; such as the frequent use of emmenagogues, 
which contain mercury; exposure of the feet to the damp and cold 
earth by wearing thin shoes ; the practice of dressing in such a manner 
as to compress the waist, thus preventing the return of the venous 
blood to the heart by the superficial veins, also obstructing the capil- 
lary circulation ; hence the blood is forced through the deep capillaries, 
inducing congestion of the uterus. It may also be caused by repeated 
abortions, by excessive venery, by cold and exposure; in short, any- 
thing which will induce it in any of the internal viscera, will produce it 
in the uterus. 

Treatment: Hot injections; same as inflammation of uterus. 

ANTEVERSION OF THE WOMB (TIPPING FORWARD). 

The womb in its natural position inclines considerably forward. 
The inclination of the uterus is such that it coincides with the axis of 
the pelvic cavity. In anteversion the womb falls still farther forward, 
sometimes to such a degree that it lies almost horizontally across the 
pelvis. 

During the period of development the womb is always anteverted, 
but after puberty this condition usually disappears. Fibroid tumors 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 493 

situated on the anterior base of the uterus will produce anteversions. 
by dragging the organ forward; pregnancy in the early stages, too 
great distention of the bladder, wearing stays which press upon the 
body of the womb, and congestion of the uterus will also cause ante- 
version. 

Symptoms: The body of the uterus presses upon the bladder and 
narrows its capacity to retain urine, thereby causing a desire to pass 
water frequently. If there is much inflammation attending the ante- 
version there is often great pain in urinating. The water is highly 
colored and deposits a thick sediment. The patient finds the most 
discomfort in the upright position, and is therefore adverse to any 
activity. 

Treatment: Same as falling of the womb. 

RETROVERSION OF THE WOMB. 

This disease is not frequent in women who have not borne children. 
The body of the womb falls backward upon the rectum, while the neck 
presses upon the bladder. It is the result often of a tumor, or an 
engorgement of the body of the womb, when sudden muscular efforts 
are sufficient to throw the uterus backward. Retroversion frequently 
follows labor, by the patient being compelled to lie on the back for 
days. The uterus is then large and exhausted, and readily falls into 
the hollow of the sacrum, from which position it cannot easily rise. 
The obstetric bandage is another cause of retroversion. After an 
exhausting labor the uterus is too weak and too heavy to rise into the 
pelvic cavity properly— the bandage is applied to save the contour of 
the figure, at the expense of the uterus, which is now unable to over- 
come all the forces combined against it. 

Symptoms: The symptoms of retroversion are almost identical 
with those of inflammation of the womb; pains low in the back and 
limbs, inability to walk, extreme nervousness and constipation, per- 
sistent from the pressure of womb on the rectum. 

Treatment: Same as falling of the womb. 



494 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

RETROFLEXION OF THE WOMB. 

The terms retroflexion and retroversion are used almost synony- 
mously, although differing slightly in detail. In retroflexion, the neck 
of the womb maintains its proper position, while the body falls back- 
ward. Vice versa in anteflexion. 

Diseased conditions of the womb are the provoking cause of 
flexions. The distinguishing difference between retroflexion and re- 
troversion is in the greater tendency to painful menstruation in the 
former, together with sterility. 

Treatment: The treatment is practically the same as for ante- 
version and retroversion. So far as possible remove the cause. Often 
it is of great value to the patient to travel, and form new acquaintances, 
visit new scenes; anything that will serve to take the patient's mind 
from a contemplation of her condition will be of incalculable benefit. 
The mind has more to do with binding our diseases to us than we can 
possibly realize, unless we watch the effect of mind over matter for 
ourselves. A careful study of this subject will repay the effort. Keep 
the stomach and nervous system in good condition by studying materia 
medica, especially Nux Vomica and Caulophyllum, 

TUMORS OF THE WOMB. 

There are three varieties of tumors which are found frequently in 
the uterus, viz.: Fibrous, polypus and cancer. The two former are 
not usually fatal, while the latter is regarded always with grave appre- 
hensions, from being of a malignant character. 

Fibroid Tumor.— The similarity of the muscular fibers of the womb 
with that of fibrous tumors is fully established. Tumors may develop 
in any part of the womb, but they are most frequent in the body. They 
vary much in size and numbers, over thirty having been found in one 
patient. The majority of these tumors, however, are single, and may 
attain great size. 

Little is absolutely known in regard to the causes leading to their 
development, but among the predisposing causes are menstrual dis- 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 495 

orders, sterility, age and race. The colored people are most liable to 
tumors.- Tumors seldom appear after menstruation ceases, nor before 
puberty. The time of life most liable to their development is during 
the period when the generative organs exhibit the greatest activity. 

Symptoms: The patient often has profuse hemorrhages, pains in 
the pelvic cavity, headache, backache, irritation of the bladder and 
rectum, profuse leucorrhceal discharge, and frequent watery discharges 
from the uterus; this watery discharge may be considered diagnostic 
of fibroid tumor. As the tumor enlarges it can be felt through the 
abdominal walls. 

Treatment : These are cured by the absorption treatment. Copious 
injections to the womb of hot water and one dram of powdered golden 
seal and teaspoonful borax. Two grains of iodide of potassium, dis- 
solved in full glass of water; drink in four doses. Capsules of Balm 
Palmetto inserted into the vagina night and morning. See Mental 
Therapeutics. 

POLYPUS OF THE WOMB. 

A polypus is a pear-shaped tumor attached to the uterus by a 
small pedicle or stem. It develops in the neck of the womb most fre- 
quently, although no part of the uterus is exempt. When it forms in 
the neck of the womb it frequently protrudes into the vagina and may 
pass out at the vulva. 

Causes: Inflammatory action of the uterus, or obstructions to the 
menstrual flow, or anything which tends to keep up active congestion, 
predisposes to the formation of polypus. 

Symptoms: The symptoms of polypus are similar to those of 
fibrous tumors, as pain in the back, and hemorrhages; the latter is a 
pretty constant symptom, especially if the polypus lies in the neck of 
the womb or vagina, and is subject to constant irritation. Consult in 
this case a good physician. Treatment same as for Tumors. (See 
Index.) 

CANCER OF THE WOMB. 

The breast, stomach and womb are the organs in which malignant 
tumors most frequently develop. According to statistics cancer of 



496 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

the womb is most common and the point of attack is usually the neck 
of the womb. From a hardened and nodulated condition it soon passes 
into an ulcerative and sloughing state, and continues to destroy the 
surrounding tissues, till death comes to the relief of the sufferer. The 
duration of the disease varies from a few months to a few years. It 
is incurable, and will reappear after surgical removals. 

The cause of cancer is supposed to be from some peculiarity of 
the blood. It occurs most frequently in middle life. It is an estab- 
lished fact that inflammation of the uterus is not provocative of cancer. 

This malady frequently makes considerable advancement without 
attracting much attention. When the tumor begins to slough away 
hemorrhages appear, and offensive discharges which produce abrasions 
in the vagina— the complexion assumes a waxy hue and the general 
health fails. Sometimes cancer is attended with sharp lancinating 
pains. 

Treat as change of life, and insert Balm Palmetto Capsules night 
and morning. 

ULCERATION OF THE UTERUS. 

Ulceration and congestion of the os uteri is the true pathology of 
the vast majority of cases called leucorrhcea. It exists in virgins, the 
non-pregnant, pregnant, but most frequently in those who have borne 
children. 

Causes: Excessive sexual intercourse, imprudence during men- 
struation, as standing, walking, lifting, etc., and, very often, prema- 
ture efforts after abortion or labor. 

Symptoms : The most frequent is leucorrhcea, varying in quality, 
being mucous, purulent, or starchy; in color, milky, greenish, yellow- 
ish, or brownish— often tenacious masses of mucus, like starch, come 
away. 

Treatment : Tincture of Iron and Nux Vomica, of each two dro^s 
in a full glass of water; make six doses of the medicated glass of 
water. Balm Palmetto Capsules inserted every night into the vagina. 



DISEASES OF WOMEft 



497 



MENSES DELAYED. 

When a girl arrives at the age of puberty and the menses fail to 
make their appearance, do not feel alarmed ; the cause may not be due 
to any defect in the constitution of the sexual system. It would be 
folly to give medicines to force the menstrual flow, as long as she is 
free from pain, headaches, backaches, dizziness or nervousness. Im- 
prove the bodily strength to a normal standard and the flow will follow 
as the day follows night. Treat as general debility. 

PAINFUL MENSES. 

For the various conditions in painful menstruation, such as dizzi- 
ness, cramps of the bladder, rectum and bowels and bearing-down 
pains, when the discharge is dark and clotted, the face pale, flushed or 
bloated, treat as follows: 

Soak the feet in very hot water for thirty minutes ; drink very hot 
chamomile tea, plentifully prepared from the German chamomile blos- 
som, a teaspoonful of the herb to a quart of boiling water; sweeten a 
little to taste. Wrap up warm in bed for two hours. To cure and 
prevent the tendency to this disorder, use Balm Palmetto Supposi- 
tories every night at bed time, inserting one into the vagina; also 
female tablets of Calophyllum, Viburum opulus, and Pulsatilla, two 
tablets night and morning. Keep the feet warm with thick-soled 
shoes and warm stockings; do not indulge in ice cream, ice water, or 
salty foods. Cultivate cheerfulness of mind. (See Materia Medica.) 



PROFUSE MENSES. 

Excessive flowing is best overcome and cured by adopting treat- 
ment a month before the expected flow. Take phosphate of iron and 
Nux Vomica tablets, or two drops of strychnine in a full glass of water 
every half hour, alternated with the phosphate of iron. Keep as quiet 
as possible during the flow. Follow the treatment a few months; a 
cure will surely be established. 



498 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

SUPPRESSED MENSES. 

If caused by taking cold or getting the feet wet, or from some 
violent emotion of the mind— anger, great sorrow or grief— medicine 
and mental treatment both are necessary. Take Pulsatilla, six drops 
in a glass of water, and six drops of Tincture of Aconite in another 
glass; alternate, a teaspoonful every thirty minutes. Warm the feet 
in hot water or take a full hot bath before retiring. For mental treat- 
ment see Index. 

MISCARRIAGE. 

In such cases there should never be any delay in sending for a 
physician. If he can not be procured at once take Caulopyllum Tinc- 
ture, 6 drops in glass of water; dose every twenty minutes one tea- 
spoonful. The patient should go to bed and lie perfectly still; take 
deep but easy breaths, and keep the room cool and well ventilated. 
For further directions see chapter on "Signs and Progress of Preg- 
nancy. ' ' 

LEUCORRHOEA OR WHITES. 

This is a catarrhal discharge from the vagina or womb, or both. 
Like all other catarrhal conditions, it is the result of inflammation. 
The discharge may be white, yellow, or greenish in color, and be thin 
and watery or thick like the white of an egg, or starch. 

The menstrual period is usually preceded by a leucorrhceal dis- 
charge, as a result of temporary congestion, which passes away shortly 
after the menses cease. When leucorrhoea is constant and produces 
an itching of the external parts, or a burning sensation in the vagina, 
it is an indication of uterine disorder, and should be arrested at once. 
There are several varieties of discharges from the generative organs 
which are called leucorrhoea— any of which is caused by an increased 
secretion of the mucous lining of the affected part. 

General weakness and debility may produce leucorrhoea; this gen- 
eral weakness may be associated with some derangement of the liver, 
lungs or heart. It may result from a general lowering of the vitality. 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 499 

or nutrition of the body which constitutes the first stages of con- 
sumption. Local causes are, any foreign growth in the womb ; flexions, 
polypi in the uterus ; congestions and prolapsus of the uterus. Leucor- 
rhoea is often produced in children by pin worms in the rectum, in 
which case there is more or less itching in the vagina ; or it may occur 
from debility. Leucorrhcea should always receive prompt attention. 
At the best it is difficult to cure, and when neglected, it is very apt to 
cause more or less serious changes in the coating of the vagina and 
womb, resulting in extensive ulceration and hardening of the tissues, 
causing barrenness, and the more serious developments of tumors, 
growths and cancers later on. 

Treatment: Macrotin, one dose night and morning; alternate with 
Sepia (see Materia Medica), and treat as Change of Life (see Mental 
Therapeutics). Insert capsules night and morning of Balm Palmetto. 
I also advise local treatment once a week of very hot water in one 
gallon douches, making the water hotter and hotter. One thorough 
injection is better than a warm douche every day, which simply keeps 
the parts cleaned. Add a teaspoonful of borax to the hot water injec- 
tions. By heeding our warning not to neglect the above disease, 
tumors, growths and cancers at the change can be avoided. 

GATHERED BREAST. 

This is an affection of nursing women, also called " broken 
breasts. " It is an inflammation usually caused by catching cold in the 
breast. 

Treatment: As soon as the soreness and hardness is noticed, wet 
a small cloth with pure essence of peppermint and apply it thoroughly 
to the sore spot and cover the two breasts with another cloth glazed 
over with melted yellow beeswax. Leave this on until the breasts feel 
soft and natural. Internally take six drops of aconite in a glass of 
water, and six drops of gelsemium in another, a teaspoonful alternated 
every fifteen minutes. If a running ulcer forms give Ostine No. 2, a 
dose every hour or two. (See Materia Medica.) 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

PERITONITIS. (PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF THE 

AUTHOR.) 

My Own Experience — Curing this Desperate Case — A Knowledge which Saved Ltf e- - 
Results of Exposure — A Case Considered Fatal — A Poultice of Comfort — Niwse's 
Neglect Brings Relapse — It Meant Death — Relief Once More — Again the Neglect — 
The Dying Woman's Demand — The Struggle Back to Health — Bight Weeks Without 
Bowel Movement! — Eternal Vigilance the Price of Health — Value of Electro-Home- 
opathy. 

ALTHOUGH I have given this incident in print before, I have 
decided to repeat it for the very important reason that many a 
seemingly fatal attack of this dreaded illness can be cured by the 
simple methods employed in my own case, and still unknown to many 
who will read these pages. Knowledge or the lack of it, on this sub- 
ject, is often a question of life and death. I cannot refrain, therefore, 
from giving as wide publicity as possible to the facts, which are as 
follows : 

After the birth of my last child, in the month of August, 1883, I 
was suddenly stricken with acute peritonitis, which involved ovaries 
and womb in severe inflammation. Being called out to visit some 
very sick patients, when my baby was only a month old and nursing, 
and not having fully regained the required strength, I took a severe 
cold after an exhaustive day's work in my rounds. In less than thirty 
minutes I was writhing in agony, with pain through my ovaries, 
womb, and finally the entire peritoneum, accompanied by purging and 
vomiting. My features shrank, giving the appearance of one in the 
malignant stage of cholera. A physician was called, who gave me a 
half grain of morphia to relieve the agonizing pains. The dose had 
not the slightest effect, and in thirty minutes he gave me another half 
grain with some whiskey, which caused a partial subsidence of the 

500 



PERITONITIS. 501 

pain for about half an hour. From that on, I suffered continually 
with the most severe and racking pain. I refused to take any more 
morphia, as I saw that the physician began to be very much alarmed. 
He ordered hot applications over the abdomen in the form of flannel 
cloths wrung out of hot water, but no relief came. Every stab through 
my abdomen, in all directions, can better be imagined than described. 
Another physician was called, a Homoeopath, who prescribed aconite 
in alternation with belladonna, maintaining the hot applications day 
and night. This continued for four days, my pulse remaining at one 
hundred and forty beats a minute, and my temperature varying from 
one hundred and two to one hundred and three. 

CONSIDERED FATAL. 

During this time, there was no abatement of the pain. At the 
beginning of the next week, the second physician considered the case 
fatal, and made it known to my family. My features now were 
cadaverous, the nose pinched, and the thighs continually flexed to the 
abdomen. My pulse remained stationary, the temperature rising to 
one hundred and five. 

TREATED MY OWN CASE. 

My mind was perfectly clear, never having been more so in health. 
I realized that my case was hopeless in the minds of those about me, 
and in that of the attending physician. I finally decided to take my 
own case, dubious as it was. My clothes and the sheets were wet from 
the applications which had been used, and I felt assured that this 
gave me more cold. I ordered the nurse to scald two quarts of corn 
meal with boiling water, and mix with it red pepper and mustard, 
using a quarter of a pound of each, making a poultice large enough 
to cover the entire abdomen. I also directed her to prepare two glasses 
of water, in one of them dropping one pill of febrifugo, and in the 
other, one pill of the scrofoloso, and to apply heat to my feet and 
limbs by means of jugs and bottles of hot water. I took the medicine 
day and night every ten minutes, and on the third day I broke out 



502 PERITONITIS. 

into a perspiration, which I kept up until the inflammation had entirely 
subsided. I shall never forget the comfort and assurance I received 
from the hot corn meal poultice. It is the most beneficial method ever 
conceived, and can be worn twenty-four hours without change, thus 
avoiding unnecessary exposure to cold. When the inflammation had 
subsided, I removed the corn meal poultice, replacing it with a piece 
of cloth spread with cosmoline and covered with a piece of oiled silk. 
In a few more days an evacuation of the bowels took place, the first 
half being black as coal, the last half perfectly natural and well mixed 
with bile. I continued using cosmoline upon the abdomen until fully 
assured of the complete absence of inflammation. This prevented any 
perforation or adhesion of the bowels. I continued the two remedies, 
febrifugo and scrofoloso, though not so frequently, allowing thirty or 
forty minutes to elapse between the doses. 

CHILL BEINGS RELAPSE. 

From these exceptionally good conditions, I unfortunately suffered 
a relapse. When, from pure exhaustion, I fell asleep, proper care was 
not taken to insure a continuance of these good conditions. The bed 
had cooled off, my pulse and temperature had gone down to less than 
normal, no more bed-clothes had been added, and the nurse also had 
fallen into a sound sleep. The cooling off awoke me; I was in a chill, 
and soon all pain and discomfort returned. I knew then it meant 
death. I awoke the nurse and, telling her my situation, directed her 
to renew the hot corn meal poultice, and the former frequency of the 
doses of medicine, with an additional dose of fifty pills of the febri- 
fugo, dry on the tongue. In thirty minutes I had the chill under 
control, with a return of moisture and a rapid reaction. 

This occurred twice in succession, the nurse falling asleep both" 
times. I then refused to let sleep overtake me unless they agreed to 
keep awake while I slept, and maintain an even warmth about my 
body. After this they watched me during sleep, and if the temperature 
of the room changed, became cooler toward evening, or at any time 



PERITONITIS. 503 

during the day, I was covered, and warm irons were placed at my 
feet. The chest and arms were also kept warmly covered. 

THE STRUGGLE BACK TO HEALTH. 

I then began to take nourishment, oatmeal gruel, hot thin soup, or 
hot milk. During the first four weeks of the attack I took nothing 
but water, and nothing but liquid food during the second four weeks. 
After the inflammation had fully subsided, I ate cooked rice, baked 
potatoes and baked apples. I suffered no further relapse from chills. 
My bowels had completely collapsed, were lifeless as dough, and heavy 
as lead. I had no use of the abdominal muscles or diaphragm, breath- 
ing only in the chest. I discontinued the febrifugo, and took only the 
scrofoloso. The nurse carried or assisted me to the bath-room to 
give me hot general baths, sponging off with cold water, and then 
placed me in bed to rest and sleep. At that time I took the scrofoloso 
every hour. 

This treatment I continued every day until I could walk, which 
was during the eighth week, with the bowels feeling like lead and no 
movement. I then completely covered the bowels with two Benson's 
capcine plasters cut in shape to act as a support while walking or 
moving about. These I removed every three days, replacing with 
new, after washing the entire abdomen with alcohol and water. The 
latter treatment I kept up for nine months, and in connection took 
one weekly general bath. I am free from any adhesion, perforation 
or irregularity of the bowels or any of the sequelae which so frequently 
result. Eternal vigilance was the price paid for the perfect health and 
strength I regained after one of the most violent and severe attacks 
of peritonitis with grave complications. 

Such has been my success with all my patients, in every variety of 
disease, by the use of the Homoeopathic remedies and Electro- 
Homoeopathy. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

SKIN DISEASES. 

Some Slight, Some Obstinate — Some Yield to Home Treatment — Some Require a Physi- 
cian's Care — Boils and Their Treatment — Suppuration — Poultices — Opening Boils — 
Dressing Boils — Diet — Baths — Ulcers — Chronic Ulcers — Milk Crust — Nettle Rash — Itch 
or Scabies — Sulphur Treatment. 

DISEASES of the skin are numerous, and vary from the slight 
ailments which impair the beauty of the body's covering, to the 
more obstinate disorders that require considerable patience and per- 
sistence in treatment. As the simplest ones, such as enlarged pores, 
pimples, blackheads, etc., have been described in connection with the 
care of hands and face, it will not be necessary to include them here ; 
while a few which cannot be expected to yield to home treatment alone, 
are left for the practitioner to deal with individually. Several, how- 
ever, both common and distressing, I speak of here, and would also 
refer the reader to the chapter on "Beauty Baths," where the func- 
tions and the proper care of the skin are described. 

BOILS. 

These are well-known inflammatory tumors of a superficial and 
temporary nature, which usually attack the patient during youth and 
early maturity. Although annoying, and in their later stages often 
painful, they are not dangerous. 

The treatment is very simple. In their earliest stages they may 
sometimes be dispersed by hand friction, lowering the diet, avoiding 
stimulants, and correcting any tendency to constipation. When they 
increase in size and painfulness, it is best to encourage their suppura- 
tion. This may be done by poultices of bread and linseed meal ; or by 
covering them with some stimulating plaster. 

When the boil is mature, carefully open it with the point of a 

504 






SKIN DISEASES. 507 

needle, and gently press out the matter. Dress the wound twice a day 
with a little simple ointment spread on a piece of soft linen, and fas- 
tened in place by a bandage. Each time when dressing the affected 
part, press out any matter remaining and cleanse the surface with 
warm water. As a rule, the pain and inflammation subside on the first 
discharge of matter, and the wound heals in a few days. 

When there is a predisposition to the formation of boils, excess in 
eating and drinking should be especially avoided, the bowels kept 
regular, and frequent warm or tepid baths taken, to keep the pores 
of the skin open. Sea-bathing is of great benefit. 

MOST ULCERS AND SKIN DISEASES 

respond readily to the treatment of Syrup Styllengia Comp. To a 
half pint add six grains iodide of potassium; take a teaspoonful of 
the syrup night and morning. Bathe the body frequently with borax 
in water, a tablespoonful to a gallon of hot water; or put the borax 
into the bath. Diet : Plain food ; very little meat ; plenty of fruit and 
nicely cooked vegetables; whole wheat bread. 

CHRONIC ULCERS. 

All healing is accomplished through the proper circulation of the 
blood. An ulcer may remain unhealed for years if the circulation of 
that part is poor and feeble. The first step, then, to cure an old ulcer 
is to stimulate the circulation of the blood. Soak the diseased part 
with chamomile flowers, a half ounce, steeped in a quart or more of 
water. Saturate the part well with this hot fomentation, then heal 
with vaseline medicated with a few drops of tincture of golden seal 
thoroughly stirred in. If the sore looks indolent, with disagreeable 
odor, add a few drops of carbolic acid with the chamomile fomenta- 
tion. 

MILK CRUST. 

This disease develops on the scalps of teething children. It may 
be confined to a portion of the head, or it may extend down the neck, 
or to the ears or eyes. Treatment : Wash the affected part with boiled 

29 V. 



508 SKIN DISEASES. 

water and castile soap, and dry with a soft cloth by pressing gently. 
Apply small quantities of cosmoline on every part affected with the 
eruption. This will heal and remove the scabs, and ameliorate the 
itching and burning. Internally, give Count Mattei's scrofoloso, 
second dilution, every half hour. With the above treatment, milk 
crust can be cured in two or three weeks. 

NETTLE EASH (URTICARIA). 

Causes: Intestinal irritation, from eating strawberries, crabs, 
clams, or mushrooms. Also caused by uterine irritation during preg- 
nancy, by menstruation, or by the introduction of pessaries or flannels. 
Symptoms: Spots resembling those produced by the sting of nettles 
or mosquitoes. Treatment : Ehus toxicodendron and aconite, in alter- 
nation. The diet should be free from any substance which might 
produce the disorder. 

ITCH OR SCABIES. 

This disease is caused by minute white insects, the Acarus Scabiei, 
or Sareoptis hominis, which insinuate themselves beneath the cuticle, 
and travel over the different portions of the rete mucosum. It is said 
that these insects travel in pairs, male and female, and that the fe- 
male is very much smaller. By the aid of the microscope, they are 
observed to have a large number of bristles upon the head or proboscis. 
When they find a soft and moist portion of the skin, they burrow be- 
neath a small dermoid scale, and luxuriate until a deposition of a 
small quantity of serum from the blood warns them that unless they 
take their departure, a flood will overtake them. But before taking 
their final leave, the female deposits her eggs at the point of the vesi- 
cle ; thus a nidus is formed for the complete development of the acarii. 

Symptoms.— A vesicular eruption makes its appearance between 
the fingers, and in other soft portions of the skin, accompanied by 
an intolerable itching. If the vesicle be opened, a small amount of 
sero-albuminous matter will escape, and if allowed to dry will form 
a light brown scale. The cause of scabies is contagion. 



SKIN DISEASES. 509 

Treatment.— The only remedy necessary in the treatment of this 
disease is sulphur, and the reason why this remedy is not more suc- 
cessful is the inefficiency of its application. The entire surface of 
the patient should first be washed with soap and water; immediately 
afterwards, a strong decoction of sulphur should be applied to every 
portion of the body, and allowed to remain from one-half hour to an 
hour, when the whole surface should be wiped with a towel, wrung out 
of strong saleratus water. One application of the sulphur, used as 
directed above, will generally remove the disease; yet it is advisable 
to renew the application several times. The sulphur, on coming in 
contact with the insect, immediately destroys it. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

INFANTS > AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 

General Instructions — Overalls for Children — The Sand-Heap — Lunch Between Meals- 
Fruit and Jam — Vegetables — Milk the Stand-by — Ailments — Cankered Sore Mouth — 
Cholera Infantum — Whooping Cough — Convulsions, Fits or Spasms — Croup — Diphtheria 
— Scarlet Fever — Mumps — Earache — Ear-Discharges — Colic — Constipation — Diarrhoea — 
— Worms — Chicken Pox — Measles. 

THE general directions already given for keeping infants in health 
will apply in great measure all through childhood. That is to 
say, a child of whatever age should be clothed with sufficient warmth, 
but not heavily, nor tightly; should eat simple, nourishing food, with 
much milk and little or no meat; should have an abundance of sleep, 
fresh air and sunshine; a warm tub bath twice a week and cold or 
tepid sponge baths daily. 

THE "SUNBONNET BABIES" RIVALLED. 

I heartily approve of the sensible twentieth century fashion of dress- 
ing tiny tots, whether boys or girls, in blue overalls and sending them 
out to play in the sand for the greater part of each day. The combined 
delights of a sand-heap and unrestricting clothing are decided health- 
producers, and not even the famous "Sunbonnet Babies" could look 
more picturesque than do the happy, "overall babies' ' when thus en- 
gaged. 

MEALS, AND THE LUNCH BETWEEN MEALS. 

When children want something to eat between meals, give them 
an apple, a graham cracker, or zwieback, or a slice of not too new 
whole wheat bread and butter; and if you remember your own child- 
hood days, you will be glad to have me tell you that it will do no harm 
to add to the bread and butter an occasional layer of light browa 

510 



. 



INFANTS' AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 511 

sugar, or of raspberry jam. It is an excellent plan, at one meal, to 
let children eat jam, such as strawberry, raspberry or gooseberry, 
with rice or with batter puddings. Baked apples are among the best 
of cooked fruits ; and as to vegetables, mashed potatoes should be the 
staple, varied occasionally with Lima beans, peas, turnips, cauliflower, 
and asparagus. Oatmeal and other mushes are excellent for break- 
fast. Never give strong tea or coffee to a child; and it is better that 
meat shall form no part of the diet up to the age of eight years, at 
least. Milk contains every ingredient necessary to build up the body, 
and the larger proportion it forms of the daily bill of fare, the better ; 
but the food may be varied according to the hints given above and in 
"Beauty Diet." 

A child thus reared will have a good start on the road to solid, 
substantial health. In spite of all care, however, occasional disorders 
common to infancy and childhood will appear, and it is every mother's 
desire to know how to deal with them. I give, therefore, the follow- 
ing instructions as to the most usual ones: 

CANKERED SORB MOUTH. 

This affection is generally due to a disordered condition of the 
organs of digestion. Merc. corr. is a specific for simple ulcers in the 
mouth; but if the trouble has been caused by the abuse of mercurial 
preparations (i. e., salivation), Hepar sulph. and Hydrastis are 
indicated. See also indications for Arsenic, alb. and Baptisia. 
Staphysagria is also a valuable remedy when the gums bleed easily. 

CHOLERA INFANTUM. 

Symptoms: Diarrhoea with vomiting.— This disease is always 
serious, and, if possible should receive the prompt attention of a 
homeopathic physician. Much can be done by careful attention to diet, 
giving the child plenty of fresh air and sunlight. 

Treatment.— Veratrum veride; 4 drops of the tincture in a glass 
of water; a teaspoonful every 20 minutes. See "Teething." 



512 INFANTS' AND CHILDEEN'S DISEASES. 

WHOOPING COUGH. 

This is said to be "nine weeks coming and nine weeks going," an 
old saying that does not apply to a proper homeopathic treatment of 
this affection. For two or three weeks there is a slight cough, with 
every appearance of a common cold, during which period it ought to 
be cured if handled properly. Halsey's Whooping Cough Syrup will 
always prevent whooping cough if it is given in this early stage, and 
can be relied upon, if given later, to check the disease entirely or 
greatly lessen its severity and shorten its duration. 

Treatment.— During the first stage treat it as a common cold. If 
the whooping begins, Belladonna and Nux vomica are the most ser- 
viceable remedies. If the chest seems full of mucus that cannot be 
raised, or only when a fit of gagging and vomiting sets in, give Ipecac, 
and Tartar emetic. If the paroxysms are long and violent, and ex- 
hausting, spasms or suffocation being threatened, give Drosera and 
Cuprum met. 

Directions.— In severe cases give a dose every half hour until bet- 
ter; then every three or four hours. Ordinarily a dose, every two 
hours will be sufficient. A light diet should be persisted in. Drafts 
of air and fresh colds must be prevented if quick results are wanted. 

CONVULSIONS, FITS OR SPASMS. 

At no period of life are convulsions so liable to take place as in 
infancy. 

During the teething period convulsions occur more frequently than 
at any other period. Convulsions are generally preceded by some 
changes in the countenance; the upper lip will be drawn up and is 
occasionally bluish, and there may be squinting, or a singular rotation 
of the eye upon its own axis, and alternate flushing or paleness of the 
face. These premonitory signs will sometimes manifest themselves 
many hours or some days before the attack occurs, and if noticed in 
time the occurrence of a fit may be altogether prevented. 

Some, however, are unavoidable and the question comes, what 



INFANTS' AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 513 

course is the mother to take at the moment of a fit. Instantly put the 
child up to the hips in a warm bath and apply cold water compresses 
to the head, frequently changed. Sometimes the convulsions begin and 
continue on one side of the body, and require great care in their 
treatment. 

As teething and intestinal troubles are mostly the cause of con j 
vulsions or spasms I deem it important for guardians of infants and 
children to become familiar with the chapter on "Teething and Its 
Treatment.' ' I can conscientiously say that during the large expe- 
rience I have had with infants' and children's diseases, not a death is 
recorded tc my name. In every case I deal with the causes and not 
the effects. The death rate is alarming among infants and children 
before the age of five years. 

By following instructions for teething, convulsions of every phase 
are prevented, or cured if advice is heeded. The Ostine, Nature's 
Teething Powder, which I so often prescribe in diseases of infants 
and children, is a compound formula covering every necessity of 
infants, sick or well. Avoid all opiates to quiet the nervous, sick 
infant as you would any deadly poison. As I have so frequently 
remarked, "in reality there is no disease," but a disturbance of the 
vital force. Even in the hands of a physician there is no medicine 
the administration of which requires greater caution and judgment 
than that of opiates. (See Chamomile and Ostine No. 1 in Materia 
Medica.) 

CROUP. 

Two forms of croup are recognized. False or spasmodic croup 
is a purely nervous affection of the muscles of the upper windpipe. 
True croup is characterized by an excessive accumulation of mucus 
in the windpipe and the growth of a false membrane on the windpipe, 
which in severe cases, closes it up, causing death by suffocation. 

FALSE CROUP. 

The attack comes on suddenly, usually in the night; the breathing 
becomes very difficult, with a noisy, crowing or wheezy sound. Aco- 



514 INFANTS' AND CHILDKEN'S DISEASES. 

nite and Spongia alternately; a dose every 15 minutes usually suffices 
to promptly relieve this form of croup. 

MEMBRANOUS CROUP. 

The attack of true croup is always gradual. For several days 
there is all the appearance of a common cold, which seems to settle 
in the throat and windpipe; the voice becomes husky and the cough 
gradually hoarser. In from two to five days the breathing becomes 
more difficult; the inspiration causes a crowing, hissing sound; there 
may or may not be a rattling of mucus in the windpipe; the climax 
may occur in from five to ten days from the commencement of the 
cold, and unless promptly relieved may then result fatally in a very 
short time, in from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. 

Treatment.— During the catarrhal stage Aconite and Spongia alter- 
nately, a dose every hour or two, will usually check further progress 
of the disease ; but if the first stage was neglected and there is a loose, 
rattling, choking cough, great difficulty in breathing, and the air pas- 
sages seem clogged with mucus, alternate Hepar sulphur and Tartar 
emetic, a dose very fifteen minutes until relieved. 

If the cough becomes hoarse, dry and barking, the tonsils and 
larnyx red, swollen and covered with a deposit of false membrane, 
the wheezing and rattling in the windpipe so violent as to be heard 
at a distance, give Kali bichr. 2x and Spongia in alternation, a dose 
every fifteen minutes until relieved. 

The true croup is always a serious disease, and should, if possi- 
ble, receive the prompt attention of a homeopathic physician. Where 
this is impossible provide plenty of fresh air in the room, without a 
draft; keep a kettle of boiling water in the room for moisture, and 
have the temperature of the room as near 70 degrees F. as possible. 
Immerse the child to its knees in water kept constantly as hot as can 
be borne, rub the limbs well and when removed from the bath wrap 
in warm flannel after wiping them dry. Apply a cloth wet with cold 
water to the throat and cover with a flannel ; renew hourly. 



INFANTS' AND CHILDEEN'S DISEASES. 515 

DIPHTHERIA. 

Symptoms.— Slight fever, loss of appetite and strength, with some 
soreness and pain in the throat, also swelling of the glands near the 
throat. 

In the first stage, there is only a reddening of the surface of the 
affected parts, but within twenty-four hours small yellowish white 
patches may be seen which in mild cases loosen and are thrown off in 
four or five days. In severe cases these increase in extent and 
thickness, and assume a grayish color. Strips of the false membrane 
may be thrown off by coughing, only to be immediately formed again. 
As the severer conditions set in, the patient becomes restless, this con- 
dition being followed by great prostration. 

Treatment.— Belladonna third, and Aconite third should be given 
in alternation, every thirty minutes. The throat should be gargled 
thoroughly every hour with alcohol and water, equal parts. The water 
may be either hot or cold. This gargle readily destroys the false 
membrane. Give very hot baths when the patient is first stricken, 
also use the foot bath of alternate cold and hot water. Place over 
the throat a well salted slice of fat pork. 

Diet.— Milk, beef juice, soups, chicken broth and mutton or other 
nutritious stimulating food is necessary. Bits of ice or ice-water may 
be allowed in small quantities at short intervals. In bad cases, when 
the vitality is at a low ebb, administer stimulants. (See and treat 
as fevers,) 

SCARLET FEVER. 

This affection, as with diphtheria and several other diseases in 
this book, is not a fit subject for home treatment. It begins with the 
ordinary symptoms of fever— shivering, hot skin, frequent pulse, 
thirst, sore throat, enlarged tonsils, and often, vomiting. On fhe sec- 
ond or third day an eruption appears, first on the neck and breast, 
then on the larger joints and body generally. 

The eruption is minutely point shaped, but not raised above the 



516 INFANTS ' AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 

surface of the skin so as to be felt. The color is a bright scarlet, some- 
what resembling a boiled lobster shell. In measles this color is darker, 
and the eruption renders the skin rough or uneven to the touch. 

Scarlet fever may be known by (1) the scarlet rash; (2) the high 
temperature of the skin and blood, rising often to 105 and 106 degrees ; 
(3) the sore throat. This last symptom is not always present. About 
the fifth day after its appearance the eruption usually begins to de- 
cline and gradually goes off, the outer skin peeling off in large flakes. 
Scarlet fever is very contagious, and the utmost care must be taken 
to avoid its spread. (See index for "Sick Room in Contagious Dis- 
eases. ,, ) 

Treatment.— Aconite and Belladonna may be given alternately, a 
dose every hour or two. If ulcers appear in the throat, alternate 
Belladonna with Mercurius viv., a dose every hour. If the rash dis- 
appears suddenly, give Byronia every two hours, and if there is a 
disturbance of the stomach with nausea and vomiting alternate it with 
Ipecac. If the disease assumes the malignant form— recognized by 
the depression of strength, brown tongue, delirium, dark, imperfectly 
appearing and disappearing eruption, dark, livid, diphtheretic appear- 
ance of the throat— alternate Lachesis with Merc, vivus, a dose hourly. 
If these do not relieve in twenty-four hours, give Arsenic, alb. and 
Carbo. veg. alternately in hourly doses. 

Directions.— Sponge the body with tepid water two or three times 
daily, place on a dry sheet and allow the skin to dry without rubbing. 
A wet bandage on the throat will greatly relieve the swelling. 

Prevention of contagion.— If given soon enough, Belladonna 2xd. 
never fails to prevent scarlet fever; a dose three times daily. 

Diet.— Milk and water will be sufficient during the high fever; as 
the fever lessens, thin gruels, broths, beef juice and cream toast may 
be given. (See Fevers.) 

MUMPS. 

This is a swelling of the gland that lies beneath the jaw bone near 
the ear. It rarely requires the administration of any other remedy 



INFANTS' AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 517 

than Mercurius vivus, which should be given every two or three hours. 
Carefully avoid taking cold, especially while recovering, as the in- 
flammation is liable to spread in the case of females to the breast, and 
in males to the testicles. 

When the breasts are affected give Pulsatilla every two hours. 
When the testicles are involved, alternate Arsenicum alb. and Pul- 
satilla, a dose every two hours. If the swelling about the neck be- 
comes very severe and suppuration seem inevitable, a poultice may 
be applied, and the abscess opened when it points or comes to a head. 

EARACHE. 

Belladonna and Mercurius viv. alternated are generally sufficient 
to remove this difficulty. But if suppuration threatens, Hepar sulph. 
and Mercurius viv. should be used. 

A few drops of Mullein Oil placed in the ear is said to be a specific 
for earache. It is also very good for the gradual approach of deafness 
in the aged. 

If caused by exposure to cold winds and the ear is hot, swollen and 
red, Aconite is indicated. If it results from measles, Pulsatilla is the 
remedy. Belladonna and Chamomilla are useful remedies for the 
earache in children. 

Directions.— A dose every half hour until relieved, then every two 
or three hours. A teaspoon quarter full of sweet oil, with one drop 
of laudanum, warmed and put in the ear, will generally stop the pain 
at once. If not, this will : Put five drops of chloroform on some cot- 
ton, place it in the bowl of a pipe, insert the mouth-piece in the ear 
and gently blow the vapor in the ear. Warm poultices are necessary 
if an abscess forms. A large amount of hard wax will often be found 
in the ear, the product of an inflammation, from a previous cold in 
the head. This is a frequent cause of earache and should be removed. 
Sweet oil will soften it and in a day or two it may be carefully picked 
out or syringed out with warm water. 



518 INFANTS' AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 

DISCHARGES FROM THE EAR. 

This affection is often very persistent, even when one is under the 
care of a skillful specialist. Especially is this true with scrofulous 
children. The .disagreeable possibility of partial or total deafness 
should lead one to seek the best medical advice. 

A cold in the head that produces an abscess in the ear requires 
Hepar sulph. and Merc. viv. (See earache.) Such discharges as a 
rule soon disappear. If, however, the ear continues to discharge a 
thick, yellowish fluid that does not make the outer ear sore ; and espe- 
cially if the discharge follows measles or scarlet fever, give Pulsatilla 
and Merc. viv. 

If the parts are red, the pain comes in paroxysms, the discharge 
makes the outer ear sore and there are occasional hemorrhages, give 
Ferrum Phos. 3xt. If there is a partial deafness, with snapping 
noises in the ear, the whole inner ear seems to be inflamed and ulcer- 
ated, Kali Mur. 3xt. is indicated. Silicea is also a valuable remedy in 
such cases. If the discharge is very offensive, the odor resembles that 
of rotten meat, Psorinum 30xd. should be given. 

Directions.— A dose should be given before meals and on retiring. 
The ear must be cleaned with some antiseptic powder or solution at 
least once a day. Halsey's Surgical Dressing is a splendid applica- 
tion for such cases. The size of a pea may be blown into the ear 
through a quill or straw, or it may be dissolved in a little warm water 
and dropped in the ear, or used in a glass syringe. 

Never inject fluids forcibly into the ear. Cotton should always be 
worn in the ear while the discharge continues. 

COLIC OF INFANTS. 

If the child screams out suddenly, draws its limbs up and writhes, 
it probably has the colic. Give Chamomilla and Colocynth alternately, 
a dose every fifteen minutes or half hour. 

Immediate relief can usually be given by putting hot, dry, woolen 



_. 



INFANTS' AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 519 

cloths to the abdomen, or what is better, a rubber bag filled with hot 
water. 

CONSTIPATION. 

The immediate cause of constipation is generally a weakness or 
deficiency of the worm-like motion of the larger bowel, but the secre- 
tions and peristaltic activity of the smaller intestines may also be at 
fault, or the liver may not secrete sufficient bile. 

Treatment.— See "Teething." 

DIARRHOEA OF CHILDREN. 

Tne general treatment is about the same as in Cholera Infantum. 
We give a few special indications. 

If it is due to errors in diet, changing the food, or occurs in hot 
weather, alternate Ipecac and Nux Vomica. 

If indigestion has been caused by fats or pastry, Pulsatilla should 
be given. If accompanied by slow, difficult teething, Chamomilla and 
Calc. carb. are indicated. If the stools are dark brown or yellow, 
Bryonia and Podophyllum 3xd. should be given alternately. If the 
stools are mostly a greenish, slimy mucus or streaked with blood, al- 
ternate Ipecac and Merc. cor. If accompanied by Thrush, it must be 
treated as such. See "Nursing." If thin and watery, accompanied 
by extreme exhaustion, Arsenic, alb. and Veratrum alb. are indicated. 

Directions.— Give a dose after each movement of the bowels. If 
hand-fed, extreme care must be observed with the diet. 

TIN WORMS. 

These are also called thread and seat worms, and are very slender 
and less than an inch long. They occur chiefly in children and are 
generally found in the lower part of the large bowel, near the rectal 
orifice. In females the worms sometimes work their way into the 
urethra and vagina. The chief symptom is the intolerable itching 
within and about the anus; the general health is affected much the 
same as is described under Eound or Stomach Worms. 

Treatment.— Prepare a small quantity of starch as it is generally 



520 INFANTS ' AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 

used in starching clothes, only a trifle thinner; to 4 tablespoonfuls of 
this add 2 drops of spirits of turpentine, mix it thoroughly and inject 
into the rectum. A second application would not be required if the 
eggs could be killed by such treatment. It must be repeated, there- 
fore, at intervals of two or three days until all the eggs have been 
hatched and the worms expelled. 

At least once every day the rectum should be well greased with 
lard, being careful to apply it thoroughly in all the small folds near 
the opening of the rectum, both inside and outside, and as far into the 
bowel as the finger will reach. This will prevent the propagation of 
the worms. 

The size of a pea of Santonine lx in powder form (or two tablets 
mashed into powder) mixed with the lard will increase its efficacy. A 
dose of Mercurius viv. should be given in the morning and one of 
Silicea at night for one month to remove the predisposition to worms. 

Observe directions for diet under Bound Worms. 

EOXTND OE STOMACH WORMS. 

These usually affect children and are generally found in the small 
intestines, though they sometimes work upward into the stomach or 
downward into the large bowel and are passed in the stools. The 
worms are from four to twelve inches long. 

Their presence in the body causes symptoms to arise which will 
often lead parents to think that the child does not digest or assimilate 
its food properly. The food is usually digested all right; but the 
system does not get an opportunity to assimiliate it; the products of 
digestion are what the worms live upon; they therefore rob the body 
of a portion of the nutriment designed for it. 

Aside from the actual presence in the stools, the clearest indications 
of the existence of worms are: rubbing and picking the nose, grind- 
ing the teeth; restless slumber, the child starting and crying out dur- 
ing: sleep ; bloating of the belly. Aside from these symptoms we nat- 
arally find those that result directly from the loss of the food material 



. 



INFANTS' AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 52X 

that is absorbed by the worms. The child grows thin, with a sallow 
or very pale complexion, dark rings under the eyes, a variable, ca- 
pricious appetite, fetid breath, the stools contain much slimy mucus; 
sometimes a cough develops. 

Treatment.— Santonine lx is the best remedy to give. A dose be- 
fore meals and on retiring for two days, followed by a dose of Castor 
Oil which expels the worms whole. It can be safely asserted that no 
worms are present if none are passed after the oil is given. Continue 
this treatment until no more worms are passed. Santonine lx should 
always be given as follows: Under two years, half the size of a pea 
of the powder, or one tablet per dose. Under four years, the size of a 
pea of the powder or two tablets; for those over four years, the last 
dose may be doubled. 

CHICKEN-POX. 

This is a pustular eruption similar in appearance to small-pox, only 
there is less fever, and the pustules about the second or third day be- 
come filled with a watery fluid that does not become yellow, as in small- 
pox; also the duration of the disease is shorter in chicken-pox. The 
pustules generally dry up about the third day, forming crusts or 
scabs. 

Treatment.— But little medical assistance is required. Attention 
should be given to the diet, which should be light and nutritious. Aco- 
nite may be given if the fever is high, a dose every hour, but Rhus 
tox. is the best remedy and should be given every two or three hours 
until the scales disappear. If there should be headache and distur- 
bance of the brain, with flushed face, alternate Rhus tox. with a few 
doses of Belladonna. 

MEASLES 

begins with all the symptoms of an ordinary cold. About the fourth 
day a small red eruption appears in the form of minute pimples, which 
gradually join and form slightly raised blotches. In four or five days 
the fever subsides, the eruption declines, and a bran-like scurf is 



522 INFANTS' AND CHILDREN'S DISEASES. 

thrown off the skin. Measles 'usually run a very mild course. The bad 
results occasionally following this affection are generally due to neg- 
lect or improper treatment. 

Treatment.— During the fever Aconite will generally be the only 
remedy required. As the fever subsides gives Pulsatilla, which will 
prevent any bad effects following the measles. If the eruption dis- 
appears suddenly or is imperfectly or slowly developed, and there is 
a disorder of the stomach, difficult breathing and a severe cough, al- 
ternate Bryonia with Ipecac. 

Directions.— A dose every three or four hours. Fresh colds should 
be carefully avoided. A temperature of 70 degrees F. is the proper 
warmth of the room; ventilate well, but avoid drafts. "Warm, baths 
will develop tardy eruptions. Darken the room if the eyes are affected 



CHAPTER XL, 
NERVOUS TROUBLES; THE POWER OF MIND, 

§g¥ally Affect or Spring from the Mentality — Sympathetic Nervous System — Controls 
All Vital Processes — "The Silent Schoolmaster" — Treat the Solar Plexus — Bodily 
Changes Arising from Emotions — "They are Able Because They Think They are Able" 
—Close Eelation of Brain to Nervous System — Instance of the Power of Suggestion — 
Dressing in Black . Mistake — Put Brightness in Your Clothing — Danger in Frighten- 
ing Children — Help Your Child by Being Cheerful — Nervous Diseases to be Treated 
both Mentally and Physically — Neuralgia — Nervous Debility — Sleeplessness — Nervous- 
ness — Hysteria — Hypochondria — Chorea, or St. Vitus' Dance — Nervousness from 
Teething — List of Special Remedies — Pregnancy — Overstudy — The Temples We Are 
Building — Broad Field of the Mind's Work — The Art of Teaching — Genius Knows No 
Rules — Work by Yourself First; then Go to a Teacher. 

PERSONS of the mental temperament are peculiarly subject to 
disorders of the nervous system. The origin of these troubles 
may be either physical or mental. Even when the cause is wholly 
physical, however, the diseased condition nearly always becomes men- 
tal as well; being carried by the sympathetic nervous system directly 
to the brain. 

This sympathetic system of nerves, you will remember, controls 
the circulation of the blood, respiration, nutrition and all the various 
vital processes; it has been called the "silent school-master " ovsr the 
sensory nerves of the body; and its center, the solar plexus, situated 
behind the stomach, controls the viscera of the abdomen and chest, in- 
fluencing the heart, stomach and womb. The treatment of this plexus, 
important as it is, has been generally overlooked. To develop and keep 
it in a strong, healthy condition, follow the directions given in "A 
Breath of Air." 

POWER OF MENTAL S&EASKESre. 

Chemical analysis of the perspiration of criminals has proved that 

the secretions of the body undergo certain distinct changes under the 

30 v - 525 



526 NERVOUS TROUBLES; POWER OF MIND. 

influence of different emotions; so that it has been found possible to 
trace the existence of hidden anger, fear, grief or remorse and dis- 
tinguish one from the other, merely from this chemical difference in 
the fluids. The perspiration of an angry man contains deadly poison. 
It is a familiar fact that extreme fright or anger will poison or dry 
up the milk in the breasts of a nursing mother, and that even the 
lesser emotions of worry or annoyance will vitiate its quality; that 
violent grief or terror will so affect the coloring matter of the glands 
at the roots of the hair as to turn the hair white in a few hours ; that 
good news brightens the eyes and straightens the stooping figure; 
that bad news blanches the cheek and destroys the appetite ; and that 
confirmed invalids have many times found undreamed-of strength 
when obliged to meet some great emergency unaided. Virgil said of 
his soldiers, "They are able because they think they are able," and 
Mulford's theory that the quality of thought determines the body's 
condition is well founded. This is no more true in nervous ailments 
than in others, but in these it is more quickly and easily proved, be- 
cause of the close, direct relation between brain and nervous system. 

THE TRANSFORMED MUSIC LESSON. 

Nervous disorders can be controlled and cured by strong auto-sug- 
gestion; that is, by deliberate, firm statements of health made by the 
conscious to the subconscious mind of the patient. Let me give a 
simple illustration which will help to make this clear. 
; J[n girls of eleven or upwards, there is often considerable nervous- 
ness, with backache, headache and irritability caused by the physical 
disturbances of approaching puberty. This discomfort is far from 
being imaginary alone; it is as real as any other disorder. Yet here 
is an instance of the power of suggestion to conquer the trouble. 

A noted author's young daughter was taking music lessons. As 
she was about to take her place at the piano one day, she complained 
of not feeling well. "My back aches,' ' she said, languidly, "and I 
dread practicing those tiresome scales and exercises \ they; are so 
dull," 



NERVOUS TROUBLES; POWER OF MIND. 527 

"I can tell you of a way to change all that," said the sensible mother, 
not pityingly, but brightly. " Just say to yourself, 'My back doesn't 
ache ; and I like to practice ! - Then tell me afterwards how it turned 
out." The little girl caught the spirit of the experiment, and prom- 
ised, laughingly, to try the new "medicine." At the end of the prac- 
tice-hour she was back again, her face glowing with animation and 
surprise. 

"Why, mamma," she said, "those exercises are really pretty! Al- 
most as pretty as a piece! and my back stopped aching!" 

The same principle applies more widely than is generally believed. 
The mind controls the body whether it consciously tries to do so or 
not ; but through ignorance, this control is often exercised in the wrong 
direction, suggesting and bringing weakness rather than strength. 

EFFECT OF WEARING BLACK. 

The custom of dressing in black because of the death of friends is, 
in my opinion, a great mistake. It does no good, is a direct contradic- 
tion of the Christian's professed belief in eternal life, and sheds gloom 
and depression of spirits on all around. The sensitively organized are 
often made ill from no other cause than this depressing mental sug- 
gestion. Mourning garb should be banished to the Dark Ages, and 
with it, the notion that elderly people should confine themselves to 
black clothing because of their years. From what superstition did the 
belief ever arise that an exemplary life must needs be sad or express 
sadness, simply because it is prolonged! Without going to the ex- 
treme of dressing in all colors of the rainbow, there is certainly a mul- 
titude of quiet, soft, becoming hues in perfect taste for those over as 
well as under fifty ; white in summer is not a forbidden luxury ; and a 
frequent touch of brightness in the wardrobe will do much to banish 
the aches and pains. Try it and see. 

Akin to the error of dressing in funeral style is the still worse 
custom of frightening children with terrifying stories. Many a child 
has had the nervous system thoroughly deranged by this practice on 



528 NERVOUS TROUBLES; POWER OF MIND. 

the part of foolish servants or schoolmates. Never permit it m any- 
one, as you value your child's health. 

HOW THE MOTHER'S THOUGHT-ATMOSPHERE AFFECTS THE CHILD. 

No child is too young to be favorably affected by the bright, serene 
health-thoughts of the mother; on the contrary, the younger the 
child, the more easily influenced by the nature of the surrounding 
mental atmosphere. The subconscious mind of the infant will take 
suggestions for good or ill long before the conscious mind is able to 
grasp them. A nervous, over-anxious mother will, therefore, help her 
child best by first cultivating health and cheerfulness in herself. 

SOME COMMON NERVOUS TROUBLES. 

The treatment for all nervous diseases should be both mental and 
physical; each helps the other. Following are some of the most com- 
mon ailments of the nervous system, and the method of dealing with 
them: 

NEURALGIA. 

This is a functional disorder of some particular nerve. Physiolo- 
gically, it is an irritation in the course of one or several sensory 
nerves. 

Causes.— Hereditary predisposition, malaria, painful, critical or 
censorious thoughts, exposure to cold, thinness of blood. 

Treatment. —For constitutional debility, enrich the blood, and ex- 
cite its circulation with hot baths. Iron phosphate, third attenuation, 
is the remedy. Keep the feet warm. 

Diet.— Bread made of whole wheat flour, eggs, vegetables, oatmeal 
at breakfast, and fruit; indulge in plenty of fresh air. (See "A 
Breath of Air.") Apply friction over the entire body night or morn- 
ing with a little good olive oil. Tell yourself, and insist upon it, that 
you have not an enemy in the world. 

NERVOUS DEBILITY, OR BRAIH FAG, 

This condition may be caused by excessive study and constant 
mental application; by chronic diseases that lessen vital activity; by 



NEEVOUS TBOUBLES; POWER OF MIND. 529 

sexual excesses, or self-abuse. The symptoms are low spirits, ner- 
vousness, palpitation of the heart, groundless fears of financial ruin. 
For treatment, see Brain Food in Materia Medica. 

Diet.— Eat sparingly of solid food when tired; take liquid foods, 
hot milk, buttermilk, soups, and the lemon and egg tonic. (See Index.) 

SLEEPLESSNESS OR INSOMNIA 

is often caused by overwork or mental strain. The patient is irritable 
and easily excited, weak and nervous; under such conditions one can 
hardly expect sound, refreshing sleep. The cause must be removed to 
obtain permanent results. Avoid tea and coffee. 

Treatment.— Belladonna and ignatia, six drops of each in separate 
glasses of water taken alternately, one teaspoonful every half hour. 
Hot foot baths ; brisk friction of body after a hot bath. Liberate the 
mind from all business cares and worry. Change the thoughts en- 
tirely. See "Mental Therapeutics." 

NERVOUSNESS. 

If caused by general debility, Nux Vomica is the best remedy, in 
connection with hot baths. If by mental anxiety, read ' \ Mental Thera- 
peutics.' ' If the cause is a disease of the uterus, use hot injections, 
two or three times a week. Take Pulsatilla and Helonias, night and 
morning. Dyspepsia is one of the greatest sources of debility, causing 
various degrees of nervous disturbance. Kemove the cause by eating 
with great precaution only such food, in small quantities, as is easily 
digested. Eead Diseases of "Women, and "Brain Food." (See In- 
dex.) 

HYSTERIA. 

Hysteria is a disease of the nervous system, almost wholly con- 
fined to females. Usually, the attacks are sudden and irregular, 
though in some cases periodical. The patient bursts into fits of weep- 
ing, soon to be followed by convulsive laughter. The disease gener- 
ally makes its appearance before puberty, and is supposed to have its 
origin in deranged uterine action, also debility and nervous exhaus- 



530 NERVOUS TROUBLES; POWER OF MIND. 

tion. Ignatia is the remedy for nervous exhaustion; macrotin and 
Pulsatilla for the menstrual derangement. Exercise, deep breathing 
and outdoor life are very important. 

HYPOCHONDRIA. 

In this, the patient is afflicted with a morbid melancholy, especially 
in regard to disease. Give ignatia and phosphoric acid prepared as 
lemonade. See Brain Food, Materia Medica; also Mental Therapeu- 
tics. 

CHOREA, OR ST. VITUS* DANCE. 

Symptoms.— Chorea is defined as a nervous disease, the seat of 
which is supposed to be at times in the brain, and at other times 
through the entire nervous system. By degrees, the voluntary mus- 
cles of the whole body become affected, the limbs jerk about in every 
possible direction, and the face is contorted by all sorts of involuntary 
grimaces, much to the annoyance of the patient. Children between 
the ages of five and fifteen years are most subject to this affection. 

Treatment.— Plain, nutritious diet. Bathe the body in hot water, 
and sponge off with cold. If constipated, give a powder of Nux Vom- 
ica every night. If there is a pale, bloodless condition, give ferrum 
phosphoricum, first decimal trituration, one grain after every meal. 
If there are symptoms of coma, give Santonine. If there is delayed 
menstruation, give Pulsatilla every morning; 4 drops in a glass of 
water, a teaspoonful every thirty minutes; and two drops of strych- 
nine in the same way alternated with the Pulsatilla. 

NERVOUSNESS FROM TEETHING. 

If an infant is restless during the teething period, give Ostine No. 
1. (See "Teething.") For this, and for nervousness from anger or 
vexation, or from the use of coffee or tobacco, or for sleeplessness in 
children, Chamomilla is also good. Other remedies are especially 
helpful, as follows: 

Gelsemium, for neuralgia in left side of face, and many nervous 
troubles. 



mm 



NEKVOUS TEOUBLES; POWER OF MIND. 531 

Hyoscyamus, for spasms, with jerking and twitching of every. 
muscle; nightly sleeplessness, and hysteria. 

Ignatia, for nervous headaches, sleeplessness, and other nervous 
disorders. 

Nux Vomica, for all nervous affections due to depression resulting 
from excessive study, haste or worry in business, anxiety; or by in- 
dulging in strong coffee or other stimulants. 

Coffea Cruda, for sleeplessness, restlessness and nervous disor- 
ders of women, children and aged persons ; neuralgia of the right side 
of the head and face. 

Caprum Met. for nervous derangements characterized by cramps, 
convulsive movements and spasms; St. Vitus' dance of upper extremi- 
ties or at one side of the body. 

These, with the Ostine and Brain Food already mentioned, consti- 
tute several of the most valuable remedies known for nervous dis- 
eases. 

NERVOUSNESS IN PREGNANCY. 

In the chapter on "Discomforts of Pregnancy,' ' are given hints on 
overcoming the difficulties that threaten the pregnant woman. Con- 
centrating her mind on the qualities desired for the unborn child will 
help towards a normal condition. 

OVERSTXTOY. 

In many public schools, this is a frequent cause of illness of the 
pupils. Such schools need to change their methods from the cram- 
ming to the free unfoldment taught by Pestalozzi and FroebeL 

MAN AN UNCONSCIOUS ARTIST. 

Every man is the builder of a temple after a style purely his own, 
to the God he worships. We are all sculptors and painters, and our 
material our own flesh, blood, and bones. Man is mind. He is an 
unconscious artist, dwelling in the midst of an endless variety of men- 
tal pictures. True education is the increase of the richness of the 
mind for its own sake. If we would reap joys, our own hands must 



532 NEEVOUS TROUBLES; POWER OF MIND. 

hold the sickle. Time, patience, and indefatigable labor will do the 
rest. Any nobleness of mind begins at once to refine a man's features; 
any meanness or sensuality to imbrute him. Ugliness of expression in 
the old or young comes of unconscious ugly thoughts; the law for 
beauty, and the law for perfect health are the same. Both depend 
very much upon the state of your mind, or upon the kind of thoughts 
you put out and receive. 

A TEACHER'S TRUE PROVINCE. 

The true art of teaching or how to learn, is not to make any study 
"hard." There should be no hard study, at any age. Real study is 
easy and pleasing mental effort. Genius knows no "old master"; it 
knows no set rules made for it by others. It makes its own rules as 
it goes along, as did Shakespeare, Byron and Scott. Your mind may 
have in it the seed of some new idea, discovery or invention; some 
new rendering of art in some form, which the world never knew be- 
fore. If you take up any trade, art, or profession all by yourself, and 
grope along in it by yourself for a few weeks, at the end of that time 
you will have many well-defined and intelligent questions to ask about 
it of some one more experienced in it than yourself. That is the time 
to go to the teacher. The teacher should come in when an interest in 
the art or study is awakened. All work, study, and mental applica- 
tions, to become useful in life, are recreative unless too long prolonged ; 
then they become irksome. 



CHAPTER XL1. 

FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 

Symptoms of Fevers — Classification — Eruptive Fevers — Typhoid — When It is JBpidemic — 
Purgatives Dangerous — Fever a Warfare to Expel an Invader — Successful Treatment 
Derived from Experience — Where to Place the Patient — The Hot Bath — Perfect Quiet 
— The Eruption — Guard Against Taking Cold — Convalescence and Its Dangers — Lung 
Complications — Dress Warmly on Eecovery — Pure Air the Best Appetizer — Caution 
in Eating — Preserving the Hair — Massage Parts that are Weak or Inactive — Drink 
Water — Bathe — Rub with Olive Oil — Diet — Constipation — Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, 
and Measles — The Gargle — Intermittent Fever — Small-pox — Chicken-pox— Diarrhoea 
— Ague and Malarial Fever — La Grippe — Asiatic Cholera — Successful and Energetic 
Work for Two — Quick, Self-Possessed and Fearless Attendants — Preventive Treat- 
ment — Predisposing Causes of Cholera. 

THE symptoms of all fevers are languor, headache, chilliness, weak- 
ness and loss of appetite. 
Fevers are classified as contagions, non-contagions, idiopathic and 
symptomatic. 

Typhoid fever, scarlatina or scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, 
small-pox, erysipelas and malarial fever come nnder the head of erup- 
tive fevers, the prognosis of which is favorable or unfavorable in pro- 
portion to the previous state of health of the patient. 

TYPHOID FEVER. 

In this disease the stage of incubation is generally three weeks, in 
some cases four, and in others two. Typhoid fever epidemics are most 
prevalent from August to November, although under favorable cir- 
cumstances, they may occur at any time of the year. The symptoms 
of typhoid fever are, a sense of general indisposition, weakness and 
debility, with headache, dizziness, soreness of the limbs, sometimes 
bleeding at the nose, and chilly sensations. These occur several days 
before the attack, which is ushered in with a violent chill, or repeated 

533 



534 FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 

chilly sensations daily. This is followed by fever, the pulse rising 
during the first week from ninety to one hundred beats per minute, 
and the temperature from one hundred and one to one hundred and 
four degrees. 

STRONG PURGATIVES DANGEROUS. 

From the earliest history of medicine until the present day, many 
and various theories have been advanced relative to disease, as well 
as much unsuccessful practice founded upon them. One of the most 
erroneous ideas is that which leads to the administering of purgative 
medicine at the commencement of a fever, in order to expel it from 
the system. This practice has been the means of increasing mortality 
to an alarming extent, as, after a drastic purgative has been given, it 
is almost impossible to effect a cure. The greater the malignity of 
the fever, the more serious the danger. This habit is very prevalent 
in private or domestic practice. The idea is to lessen the fever by 
removing the poison in the system through purgation, which treatment 
has often imperilled the life of a patient before a physician could be 
summoned, although in typhoid fever this almost fatal mistake has 
frequently been made by members of the medical profession. 

The ancients, to whom we are indebted for much knowledge, be- 
lieved fever to be the result of a warfare between the vital forces of the 
body, and some noxious element invading it. This is also the opinion 
of Ray, Rush, Sydenham, and other radical and progressive thinkers 
of the present day. Our object, then, is to remove this offending ele- 
ment from the system by the most natural, safe and reliable method 
known, thus arresting disease if in the premonitory stage, and shorten- 
ing its duration or lessening its severity in the second stage, eventually 
curing it without destroying the health and constitution of the indi- 
vidual. 

The following system is not based upon untried theory, but upon 
practical experience. Sufferers from typhoid fever, even in the last 
stages, have recovered by this method. 



FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 535 

SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF FEVERS. 

When any fever symptoms are manifest, medicate two glasses of 
Water, one glassful with ten drops of veratrmn veride, the other with 
two drops of strychnine. Give the medicated one with veratrum veride 
a teaspoonful every twenty minutes until the skin is moist; of the 
glass in which two drops of strychnine have been dropped give a tea- 
spoonful once in two or three hours. 

Have the patient placed in the sunniest and best ventilated room 
in the house ; the parlor, should that answer the description. 

Before placing the patient in bed, bathe his feet thoroughly in hot 
water, then in cold, and again in hot water. If a bath tub is convenient, 
give the patient a hot bath as soon as possible. While he is in the 
water, increase the temperature gradually by pouring hot water over 
the chest from a dipper. Continue until the heat is as great as the 
patient can bear. While in the bath, the body should be covered with 
a piece of flannel or a heavy towel. If the head should feel full or 
dizzy, place a wet, cold towel around it. Wipe until thoroughly dry, 
place in bed with warm coverings, and a jug of boiling water at the 
feet. Do not neglect to administer the medicated water as directed. 
The hottest summer weather will admit of this treatment. Allow no 
one in the sick-room, and avoid all conversation. Perfect quiet must 
positively be maintained. 

AVOID SUDDEN COOLING. 

If normal conditions do not assert themselves in a few hours, and 
the fever should continue, with great thirst, keep the patient carefully 
covered, being particular not to check in the least any moisture of the 
skin, or any rash that may now be making its appearance on the sur- 
face of the body. Words cannot describe with what rapidity a too 
sudden cooling of the skin will cause any eruption, which may be about 
to make its appearance, to recede. This eruption is sometimes so faint 
as to escape detection by an inexperienced person. In some patients 
in presents itself only as a slight redness of the surface, or in spots 



536 FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 

on some portion of the body. This may be regarded as unimportant 
by a person unskilled in sickness, when in truth it is a critical moment. 
A reaction of the entire system occurs— an effort to expel the obnox- 
ious irritant poison of the blood from the system. The combined action 
of the medicine and the external stimulation of the bath causes in- 
creased heat and, consequently, a nervous condition of the entire 
system. If at this moment the patient throws off the clothes, or is 
uncovered, the chill thus received causes the eruption to recede to 
the interior, where it fastens upon the lungs, bowels, or perhaps upon 
the entire tract of mucous membrane. 

The veratrum veride acts as a general sedative, eliminative, and 
diaphoretic, acts as a powerful assistant in bringing a retarded or 
checked eruption to the surface. The unquenchable thirst must be 
gratified by pure spring or cold boiled water prepared as follows: 
Medicate one quart of water with ten drops of veratrum veride. Of 
water thus medicated, the patient may consume two or three quarts 
during the twenty-four hours. All food must be withheld until the 
fever has abated. Then gruels (see chapter on Dishes for Invalids) 
may be given in moderation, until sufficient strength is established to 
enable the patient to take solid food. This is best withheld as long 
as possible. 

CAUTIONS FOR CONVALESCENTS. 

The greatest liability of the patient is to take cold, consciously 
or unconsciously, and suffer frequent relapses, which weaken his power 
of endurance. 

Do not be in too great haste to remain out of bed long at a time, 
when convalescing from fever; as soon as slightly fatigued, lie down, 
cover up warmly, and rest. Take food often, in small quantities, until 
health is restored. If the symptoms indicate a recession of the rash 
to the lungs, bowels, or both, the case has become complicated, and a 
serious disturbance of the entire system prevails. The veratrum 
must be renewed, and given as in the commencement of the disease, a 
teaspoonful every five or ten minutes. This will bring about a reac- 



FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 537 

tion, but the bowels and lungs must, from the very commencement, be 
well cared for. If the bowels show any signs of looseness or irregu- 
larity, cover them completely with a poultice made as follows : to one 
quart of corn meal, add boiling water sufficient to make a thick pan- 
cake batter. Add two tablespoonfuls of red pepper and one of ground 
mustard, mix thoroughly, and spread between cloths. This poultice 
should be one inch In thickness, and should be held in position by means 
of a long bandage, securely pinned. Should there be difficulty in breath- 
ing, indicating complications of the chest and lungs, with a dry, brown 
tongue and parched lips, put four drops tincture of baptisia in a glass 
of water, and give a tablespoonful every hour. Also apply a poultice 
large enough to cover the entire chest, prepared as for the bowels. 
Keep the feet warm with jugs of hot water. Bathe the patient in equal 
parts of hot water and alcohol, once a day, in a warm room, being care- 
ful to expose only one part of the body at a time, keeping the doors 
and windows closed. Change the body garments once a day when per- 
spiration is established. Perspiration usually induces sleep, thus re- 
lieving the nervous tension. The odor emitted from the patient is 
something indescribable, but need not cause alarm, for as soon as this 
stage is reached the patient is out of all danger from the disease. The 
only peril which still threatens him is a tendency to become easily 
chilled, which would probably result in a relapse. Should this occur, 
treat as in the beginning of the disease, giving the medicines internally, 
and applying stimulants externally to feet, bowels, or wherever most 
required. 

The hot poultices need seldom be renewed. They can be retained 
on the afflicted parts until relief is obtained from pain and tenderness, 
and easy respiration is established. After the poultice is removed, 
line a piece of oiled silk, large enough to cover the surface of the lungs 
and bowels, with a piece of cloth on which is spread cosmoline. In 
the absence of oiled silk, thin, tough paper may be used, though silk 
is much to be preferred. Use this upon the lungs and bowels until the 
patient is entirely recovered, renewing the cosmoline every day. 



538 FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 

DRESS THE BODY AND FEET MUCH WARMER, 

when emerging from the sick bed, than was the custom before illness. 
Give the exhausted vital energies time and opportunity to regain 
strength; nothing is gained by undertaking any work or occupation 
before the full strength of the system is re-established. Rest, with a 
little moderate exercise, is absolutely necessary for perfect recovery. 
The administration of tonics or stimulants to hasten this result is 
erroneous, as an artificial stimulant for the overtaxed system is very 
injurious. Rest and moderate exercise are the only natural and per- 
manent restoratives known to nature. A little tonic to strengthen a 
feeble appetite is occasionally advisable, but breathing an extra quan- 
tity of pure air into the lungs when convalescent is the greatest appe- 
tizer in the universe. This— with plenty of sunshine and bright and 
happy thoughts— is the best tonic for weakened nerves. Administer- 
ing tonics and stimulants is parallel to lashing a horse when over- 
worked, instead of giving him the required rest and food. 

CONVALESCENCE. 

Hunger is one of the best indications of returning health. Great 
care should be taken in the selection of proper food and drink. Self- 
control and judgment are required of the patient, not to gratify the 
palate too much. Many serious relapses have occurred from over- 
indulgence of the appetite when recovering from sickness. During 
convalescence the hair should be looked after to prevent its falling out. 
(See chapter on Care of the Hair and Teeth.) Application of the hair 
tonic well rubbed into the scalp will prevent the falling out of the hair 
and eyebrows. 

With proper bathing, correct thinking and breathing, convalescence 
is quickly established. When any part of the system feels weaker or 
more inactive than the rest, massage with the finger by pinching and 
rubbing that part of the body, to invite a vigorous flow of blood to 
that part, thus establishing a normal circulation, as it is through the 



FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 539 

blood that all parts of the body receive their strength. Drink plenty 
of cold or hot water to increase the fluidity of the blood. Take a full 
bath once a week, followed by a rub of olive oil. 

The diet when recovering from sickness should consist of chicken 
or lamb broths seasoned with celery, Horlick's Malted Milk, sani- 
tarium crackers or well-toasted whole wheat bread. For constipation 
take a table spoonful of olive oil night and morning in a cup of hot 
water with a little salt ; eat prunes, apples and other fruits, and nuts. 
Avoid cathartics and physics as you would a deadly poison, which, in- 
deed, most of them are. Read the chapter on bathing. If the rectum 
or bowels feel full take an injection to remove the contents of the lower 
bowels ; one quart of hot or warm water with a little castile soap. 

SCARLET FEVER AND DIPHTHERIA, MEASLES AND SMALL-POX 

are treated in the same manner as typhoid fever, the same remedies 
beiiig used, with the exception of an additional gargle of hot water 
and alcohol, equal parts, where throat is affected. Use according to 
the severity of the case. The unhealthy membrane is destroyed 
rapidly, and the virulency of the disease is abated. 

In scarlet fever, if the fauces of the throat are sore and full, use 
the same gargle, the hot, stimulating poultice around the throat, close 
up to the ears. (See Infants' and Children's Diseases.) 

For intermittent fever, give thirty drops of veratrum in a glass of 
water, an hour or two before the expected chill, the same as in typhoid 
fever. If the chill is not broken the first or second day repeat the 
above treatment two or three times in succession. 

The treatment for small-pox and chicken-pox is the same as that 
for typhoid fever, with the exception that the face should be covered 
with oiled silk or soft tissue paper, spread with cosmoline or fresh 
lard, to prevent pitting. Cut a place for the nose and eyes. 

For diarrhoea, use veratrum, six drops of the tincture in a glass 
of water, a teaspoonful every twenty minutes, or diluted in one quart 
of water, which is to be given as a drink if there is great thirst. Appty 



540 FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 

artificial heat when the vital forces have become positive or negative 
to excess. 

I could give a list of hundreds of cases of typhoid, ague, sewer-gas 
and malarial fevers, small-pox, diphtheria, cholera infantum, scarlet 
fever and measles, that I have cured with the above remedies and 
treatment. 

LA GRIPPE 

is treated very successfully in the same manner as fevers, and with 
the same remedies. Apply the hot poultices as described in the chapter 
on Peritonitis, on any part of the body where most needed. My la 
grippe patients all convalesced on the third or fourth day, and were 
out at the end of a week, perfectly able to resume business. 

For the relief of the suffering, and for the instruction of those who 
feel the truth of my assertions, I give my knowledge and experience 
of the dreaded disease, 

ASIATIC CHOLERA, 

in its most malignant form, together with its infallible treatment and 
cure. The commencement of this terrible disease is often unnoticed 
until the system is fully prepared for the sudden and violent outbreak. 
The slight, painless diarrhoea, and depression of the nervous power, 
with occasional dizziness, may pass unheeded and the patient may be 
apparently well, yet after a sound and undisturbed sleep for hours, 
he may be awakened by a remarkably violent illness, perhaps vomit- 
ing, accompanied by profuse discharges from the bowels, attended 
with severe pams extending down the legs, and a sense of complete 
exhaustion. The physical powers and vital energies are immediately 
prostrated. The temperature sinks below the normal standardj the 
body becomes benumbed with an icy coldness, the skin becomes shriv- 
eled up and almost insensible to heat or stimulating fomentations. 
The breath, too, as it comes from the lungs, appears to partake of the 
same icy quality. The patient complains of being greatly oppressed, 
throws off the bedclothes and calls for cold water, which he eagerly 
drinks, and which should never be withheld. The hands and feet turn 



FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 541 

blue or purple, as will, sometimes, the entire body. There are severe 
spasms and cramps in the ringers, toes, legs and bowels, which cause 
him to writhe and groan in agony; a wild, terrified expression over- 
spreads the face, and the eyes appear dead and glassy. These impor- 
tant changes may all take place in a few minutes. Additional symptoms 
are, increased purging and vomiting, with low pulse. The only faculty 
which seems to preserve a good degree of power is the brain. The 
disease is now fully developed, and progress is rapid. 

The above symptoms of genuine, malignant Asiatic cholera can be 
controlled to complete and perfect recovery of the patient, if the treat- 
ment is fearlessly carried out. At this stage of the disease, the patient 
will calmly tell you that all is over, and that nothing can save him. 
Pay no attention to this, but boldly and fearlessly keep at your post, 
allowing no thought of fear to creep in. When purging and vomiting 
begin, use the most diffusive stimulants externally and internally. 
Keep a window open in the patient's room. It is necessary for two 
people to work together. One should prepare a poultice as follows: 
scald two quarts of common corn meal until of the consistency of pan- 
cake batter, and mix thoroughly with it six tablespoonfuls of red 
pepper, and four of ground mustard; spread one-half inch thick be- 
tween two layers of cheesecloth, and place over the entire stomach and 
bowels, the soles of the feet and calves of the legs. Pin flannel over 
the poultices, to keep them in position, and place jugs and bottles filled 
with boiling water, also hot bricks wrapped in pieces *)f cloth, about 
the bed. Rub the base of the brain with alcohol. To relieve the un- 
quenchable thirst, give veratrum veride, six drops of the tincture to 
a quart of water, without ice, every ten minutes, in very small quan- 
tities, as large quantities increase the tendency to vomit; this induces 
a copious perspiration. Cover the patient warmly. 

While one attendant is making the poultices, a second should pre- 
pare the following:— chloroform, four drachms; tincture capsicum, 
three drachms; essence of peppermint, two drachms; glycerine, three 

ounces. Mix, and give one teaspoonful in two large tablespoonfuls of 
31 v. 



542 FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 

water. In thirty or forty minutes, if the symptoms have not sufficiently 
abated, repeat the dose. In connection with this, continue to give the 
medicated water as a drink every ten or fifteen minutes, until the 
patient breaks out in a warm perspiration. Then allay his thirst with 
larger quantities of the medicated water, which he will be able to re- 
tain on his stomach in large quantities after perspiration sets in. Keep 
up the sweating from six to nine hours, at least. Allow him to drink 
all the medicated water he craves. The stimulating poultices ma v y 
remain until the patient is so far advanced toward recovery that they 
may be removed altogether. 

The patient will fall into a sleep almost immediately after perspira- 
tion sets in, from which he must not be awakened. Boil strong vinegar 
in the room until purging is controlled; place cloths, old sheets, old 
quilts, or cotton batting on the bed to absorb the watery stools. Reach 
under the bedclothes and remove them as fast as the evacuations occur 
Then immediately burn or bury them deep under ground at some dis- 
tance from the house. It is not well to allow the patient to use the 
vessel or water-closet, as in so doing he disarranges all poultices and 
dissipates the artificial heat, thus hindering the progress of treatment. 
This disease requires all present to be quick, self-possessed and fear- 
less. It is difficult to say when a case has become hopeless. The blue 
look, the cold extremities, the deeply sunken, glassy eyes, the almost 
imperceptible pulse are not indications that the case is hopeless. 

All modifications of the disease require the same treatment, the 
only difference being that in the milder form the dose of cholera medi- 
cine should be lessened to a half teaspoonful. The external stimulants 
need not be quite so strong. 

"When a cholera epidemic prevails, the premonitory stage should 
receive immediate attention. The symptoms are, lassitude, depression 
of nerve power, pains in the forehead, slight dizziness, and oppression 
at the chest. These, in most instances, can be promptly removed. The 
patient should at once be put to bed ; hot, stimulating poultices should 
be placed over the stomach, and a large jug of boiling water wrapped 



FEVERS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 



543 



in flannel should be placed against the soles of the feet. In a glass of 
water, put one drop of the tincture of veratrum veride. Give a tea- 
spoonful every fifteen minutes. Perspiration will begin shortly, elimi- 
nating all cholera poison through the skin, kidneys and bowels. This 
is a simple and reliable treatment for the premonitory stage of cholera. 

PREVENTIVE OE PROPHYLACTIC TREATMENT. 

Pure air, pure water, plain and nutritive diet are nature's great 
preventives against the countless ills of life, sustaining a healthy and 
normal condition of the system, especially during epidemics. This 
cannot be maintained ivitliout pure air, whether our dwellings are in 
the city or country. Pay special attention also to diet. Abstain from 
all pastry. A good, plain, nutritious diet is indispensable in the pre- 
vention of disease. Moderation in all things should be the rule. 

Predisposing causes of cholera are, derangement of the stomach, 
great anxiety of mind, excessive fear of an attack, unwholesome diet, 
exhaustion from overwork, mental or physical, neglect of personal 
and domestic cleanliness, irregular habits, and excesses of every de- 
scription. Any one of these may be sufficient to induce an attack; all 
are direct incentives and stimulating agents in the production of 
cholera. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

GENEEAL DISEASES. 

3 'Running Their Course' ' — The More Modern Way — Treatment of Many Ailments— 
Bright's Disease — Bronchitis — Catarrh — Cholera — Constipation — Consumption — Cor* 
pulency— Coughs—Diabetes — Diarrhoea — Dropsy — Epilepsy — Erysipelas— Menin- 
gitis — Liver Trouble — Pneumonia — Rheumatism — Softening of the Brain, and Many 
Other Diseases. 

THE old belief that most diseases must "run their course" is giv- 
ing way before the improved modern methods of treatment, and 
it is proving true that as people become more enlightened, many an 
illness which would otherwise be severe, is checked at an early stage 
and either completely dispersed or rendered comparatively light and 
of short duration. As knowledge is extended, suffering decreases, and 
it is seen to be possible to work so in harmony with nature's laws as 
to assist materially in the restoring process which she is ever trying 
to establish. 

From my experience I will here give what have proved effectual 
methods of recognizing and treating some sixty of the common dis- 
eases in such a way as to leave the patient in the most favorable con- 
dition, or, better still, to guard against contracting the diseases at alL 

ASTHMA. 

There are two classes of asthma. One is developed and brought on 
in highly nervous people, very sensitive to taking cold; the other is 
of the hay-fever type appearing late in the summer and early in the 
fall and at no other time of the year. The latter should be treated 
as hay fever and the former similar to a chronic cold. 

The causes are a low, debilitated condition of the general system, 
hereditary tendency to bronchial affections, and neglected colds. The 

544 



GENEKAL DISEASES. 545 

symptoms are difficult breathing, inability to lie down, the chest feels 
heavy and oppressed, shortness of breath, and palpitation. 

Treatment is hot bathing and friction with cold water all over the 
surface of the body, to establish resistance to colds by making the 
surface of the body more positive against attacks. When a patient 
sutlers from asthma, it is plain that the internal surface or mucous 
membrane is in the positive condition, overcharged with vital fluid in 
the blood, which condition must be reversed, making the internal less 
positive by attracting the blood to the outer surface of the body which 
is normal, also apply compresses to the chest, hot or cold water. Ob- 
serve also the treatment of the solar plexus, as given in "A Breath 
of Air. ' ' ( See Index. ) 

BILIOUS FEVER. 

In this disease, when the temperature never rises very high but 
the fever is persistent, with a bad taste in the mouth, headache, dark, 
heavily coated tongue, foul breath, with derangement in the stomach 
and bowels,— such fevers are readily cured by taking gelsemium tinc- 
ture, ten drops in a glass of water, and tincture of podophyllum, six 
drops in another glass of water. Alternate. A tablespoonful every 
hour. 

"When there are severe pains in the bones, the back feels as if broken, 
and there is a sore, bruised feeling over the entire body, give tincture 
of baptisia, four drops in a glass of water and alternate with the gel- 
semium as above ; alternate dose every hour. 

BLEEDING FEOM THE STOMACH, LUNGS, AND NOSE. 

Salt compresses laid on the diseased parts. 

CHRONIC NEPHRITIS, OR BRIGHT 'S DISEASE. 

Symptoms.— Gradually increasing debility, a frequently irritable 
pulse, dyspepsia and vomiting. Pale, bloated appearance, occasional 
loss of appetite, dropsy, and frequent desire to urinate. The urine is 
light in specific gravity, and forms a thick, white deposit of albumen 



546 GENEEAL DISEASES. 

when boiled. Causes.— Hereditary tendency, frequent exposure to 
cold, cold feet, gout, scarlet fever or dyspepsia. 

Treatment.— The secretions of the skin should be kept active by 
frequent hot baths. Turkish, Eussian, hot water and alcohol baths 
are all excellent, and should be taken in a warm room two or three 
times a week. The bath is necessary for cleanliness, and for its tonic 
effect. Arsenicum 6th and helonias 3d are the principal remedies. 
The condition of the stomach, bowels and skin should receive special 
attention, as the disease results principally from a defective condition 
of these emunctories. One of the most important features in the treat- 
ment is to maintain a free action of the skin, as by this means the blood 
is diverted from the kidneys, and purified. All stimulants and diuretics 
must be avoided. 

The specific treatment for degeneration of the kidneys consists in 
the building up of the system by extra breathing, diet, bathing, and 
rest from mental worry. Bathe the lower hklf of the back, also the 
base of the brain, if pain exists, and the bowels, if inactive, with alcohol 
and hot water, equal parts of each. Bathe and rub freely every other 
night, using only cold water over the parts, with a sponge or coarse 
cloth, then drying thoroughly. 

Diet.— The diet given here is unlike that usually prescribed for 
Bright 's- disease. The most nourishing food is selected, that which 
does not contain sugar or starch, as these ingredients do not give 
strength but only produce heat, thereby causing inflammation. Bread 
made from entire wheat flour, beef, mutton, tongue, oysters, raw or 
cooked without flour, and all kinds of fish or poultry not cooked or 
thickened with flour. Lettuce, cucumbers, onions, sour apples, peaches 
with cream, strawberries without sugar, asparagus, cold slaw, celery, 
string beans, coffee and tea in moderation, milk and buttermilk, are all 
beneficial. 

Eat slowly in moderate quantities, and take as little liquid as pos- 
sible at meals. Sleep eight hours of the twenty-four. Patients in the 
last stages of the disease have been perfectly restored to health, under 



GENERAL DISEASES. 547 

the above treatment, even when able to pass only two-thirds of a tea- 
spoonful of urine at a time, which being set in the sun, would almost 
entirely coagulate into albumen. 

BRONCHITIS (ACUTE). 

Symptoms.— First, a feeling like that of a bad cold in the head, 
followed by a burning sensation beneath the breast-bone, with hurried, 
labored breathing, accompanied by wheezing or whistling sounds. The 
cheeks and lips are pale and livid; the throat is sore and the voice is 
hoarse; the severe cough at first is dry and hard, but later becomes 
loose; a thick, frothy substance that may be streaked with blood is 
expectorated; there is high fever, rapid pulse, highly colored, scanty 
urine. 

Treatment.— At the onset of the attack, aconite and bryonia are to 
be given alternately as in pneumonia. Hot cornmeal poultices, con- 
taining two table spoonfuls of red pepper and one of ground mustard. 
Fresh poultice to be applied every six hours. 

Diet.— Liquid and nutritious. 

CATARRH. 

If precautions are taken with every new cold to maintain an in- 
creased capillary action over the entire surface of the body, until normal 
and healthy action of the mucous membranes be established, catarrh of 
any kind could not become chronic. If the feet are permanently kept 
warm by proper dressing, and bathing two or three times a week, as 
described in previous chapters, by placing the feet in hot and cold 
water alternately, from thirty to forty minutes at a time, until they 
feel hot and look red, one of the greatest causes of disease would be 
removed. Patients who are subject to the use of tobacco, in any form, 
need never look for a permanent cure or relief from catarrh or dis- 
ease of any kind until this habit is overcome, and the system rid of 
the tobacco poison. There are numerous nervous coughs that arise 
from irritation of the mucous membranes of the bronchi and capillaries 
of the lungs, caused by the tobacco. Give two or three doses of nux 



548 GENERAL DISEASES. 

vomica, third trituration, two or three times a day, dry on the tongue, 
for two or three days, and the cough readily disappears, but not per- 
manently unless the tobacco habit is discontinued. With Turkish or 
hot baths of any kind, taken twice a week, including free perspiration, 
to eliminate the offending poison of the tobacco from the system, the 
most obstinate catarrh can be permanently cured if the treatment is 
persevered in. Nux vomica is an antidote for the tobacco, and is the 
best local and constitutional tonic in the Materia Medica. Deep, extra 
breathing is also an important essential. 

CHOLERA. 

Simple Cholera. 

Definition.— An acute catarrhal inflammation of the stomach and 
intestines. Symptoms.— Nausea, vomiting, purging of bilious, watery 
fluid, thirst, coldness, and sometimes cramps of the legs and abdomen. 
Treatment.— If there is coldness and prostration, or cold sweat, give 
two or three drops of the strong tincture of veratrum veride, one drop 
in a glass of water ; dose, one teaspoonful every ten minutes. If there 
is vomiting and purging, give veratrum veride once an hour. If thirst 
predominates, give arsenicum 3d. Apply heat to the extremities, also 
hot capsicum. Prepare poultices of corn meal mixed with boiling 
water, and two table spoonsful of red pepper; mix, spread between 
flannels, and lay over the abdomen and stomach. 

Asiatic Cholera. 

Symptoms.— Sudden prostration of strength, coldness of the sur- 
face, with great internal heat and thirst, cramps in the thighs, legs, 
toes and fingers, cold tongue and breath, vomiting and purging re- 
sembling rice water. In the advanced stage, the pulse is hardly per- 
ceptible, the eyes are sunken, the face is pinched, the voice reduced to 
a hoarse whisper; there is extreme restlessness and thirst, with cold, 
clammy sweat. For treatment, read chapter on " Fevers and Con- 
tagious Diseases, " which contains directions for the treatment and 
cure of malignant Asiatic cholera. 



GENEBAL DISEASES. 549 

(DOLDS. 

Treatment.— For muscular soreness and tenderness, headache, cold 
feet, stiff, sore feeling over the entire body, take aconite and bryonia 
in alternation, wrap up warmly, and promote perspiration. See 
catarrh, neuralgia and sore throat. Six drops of aconite tincture in 
a glass of water ; a teaspoonful given every twenty minutes in alterna- 
tion with bryonia prepared in the same way. 

COLIC. 

Causes.— Exposure to cold, also indigestion, worms, and lead poison- 
ing. It is distinguished from inflammation of the bowels, in that pres- 
sure relieves pain, while in inflammation pressure is painful. 

Treatment.— The hot corn meal and red pepper poultice (see in- 
dex) placed between flannel cloths, and laid over the entire bowels. 
Wrap the patient warmly, and give a little nux vomica, third attenua- 
tion in some water; also six drops of veratrum veride in a glass of 
water; a teaspoonful every twenty minutes. 

INTESTINAL COLIC. 

This affection is characterized by severe griping or twisting pains 
in the abdominal region, particularly about the navel. The pain is 
somewhat relieved by pressure, and is caused by either a cold or the 
passage of some 'rritating food through the bowels. It may also occur 
as a symptom in the course of a different disease. 

If due to a sudden cold, a few doses of aconite or Eubini Compound 
Camphor Pills will afford prompt relief. If caused by some error in 
diet, nux vomica and colocynth should be given alternately every 
fifteen minutes until relief is had. If it occurs with diarrhoea and 
vomiting, see Cholera Morbus. 

CONSTIPATION. 

Causes.— Mental trouble, anxiety, the use of too much pastry, fine 
flour, the habitual use of purgative medicines, intemperance, lead in 
the system, tobacco. A tendency to costiveness is not so grave as many 



550 GENERAL DISEASES. 

people believe; indeed, individuals thus predisposed generally live 
long, unless injured by purgatives, while those who are subject to 
frequent attacks of diarrhoea are soon debilitated, seldom attaining 
old age, The common idea that aperients or laxatives contribute to 
health, and that the impurities are thereby expelled from the body, is 
erroneous. 

Treatment.— Regular exercise, regular food, and a regular time for 
the evacuation of the bowels are extremely important in the preven- 
tion and treatment of this disorder. Entire wheat or graham bread 
should be used exclusively. If entire wheat bread cannot be obtained, 
substitute corn bread, rolled oats eaten raw in milk every morning, 
and ground wheat and barley mixed, also eaten raw in milk. Drink 
a glass of water before breakfast. Indian meal mush, with 
molasses, and ripe fruits and vegetables should form a large portion 
of the diet. Tea and coffee should be used sparingly. Washing the 
rectum every night or morning with cold water and a sponge, I have 
found to be, for many, an infallible cure. Drink plenty of cold water 
before and between meals, without ice. If the rectum is full of accu- 
mulated feces, remove them with an injection of warm water. If the 
obstruction be very obstinate, use castile soap and water. If the symp- 
toms are dull headache, with irregular action of the bowels, itching of 
the anus, with piles, and sleeplessness from over-eating, use nux vomica 
and cascara sagrada alternately, every hour; if very obstinate, take 
bryonia every two hours. These remedies will also remove the yellow 
discoloration of the skin. 

AN INFALLIBLE REMEDY FOR CONSTIPATION. 

An infallible cure for chronic constipation consists in living for 
a few days entirely upon good ripe apples eaten at regular meal time, 
and after that, adding a slice of graham, oatmeal or any of the grain- 
flour toasts. Any of the ripe tart fruits are excellent as an occasional 
change. A man came to me at one time, saying that life had become a 
misery. He said he had taken such a sea of drugs that it seemed tQ 



GENERAL DISEASES. 551 

him his bowels must be dead, and that it was not unusual for an entire 
week to elapse without an action of the bowels. At that time it had 
been ten days since he had had a movement, and he was terribly dis- 
tressed. I directed him to get some good apples, eat two or three for 
supper, with an abundance of not another thing, this to be continued 
a day or so, or two or three days at a time. At the end of a week I 
met him, and, with profuse thanks, he said he had learned a lesson 
that would lead to a renewed life. How simple is the true way, and 
how effectual. 

Another simple method of overcoming obstinate constipation is to 
take a teaspoonful of pure olive oil before breakfast every morning, 
until a normal habit is established. Pay attention to diet, and take 
no liquids during meals. All liquids must be taken before meals, or 
from one to two hours subsequently. 

PULMONARY CONSUMPTION OR TUBERCULOSIS. 

The more modern and technical name for this disease, in former 
years called consumption, is Tuberculosis. It is the great destroyer of 
civilized life, carrying off prematurely one-fifth of the entire popula- 
tion. Remedy after remedy has been found and tried, and proved a 
failure. 

There are several other terms for consumption, but they all mean 
one thing, that is, wasting away. Phthisis, Marasmus, Tabes, all imply 
emaciation, which is one of the prominent symptoms of Pulmonary 
Consumption. Tuberculosis is not always confined to the lungs, but 
is more commonly used as a synonym of Phthisis or Pulmonary Con- 
sumption. 

The other most prominent symptoms, besides emaciation, are a 
distressing cough with expectoration, night sweats, and very often in 
later stages, diarrhoea. Hemorrhage from the lungs or spitting of blood 
frequently terminates in Phthisis. 

Causes.— Unsanitary houses and work shops, lack of fresh air, grief, 
melancholy, misanthropy, fear, anxiety, as well as all great disap- 
pointments which paralyze the vital organs. One of the greatest causes 



552 GENERAL DISEASES. 

of consumption is to be found in neglected colds, causing constant cold 
feet ; fear blanches the cheeks and drives the blood from the capillaries 
to the heart and lungs, and all depression of spirits retards or stops 
entirely the respiration. 

The Treatment and Cure.— The mind must be uplifted and the 
spirit be joyous and free in order to enjoy health. Thoughts are 
things, and constitute for the wise ideal remedies. Correct the soul, 
the conscience, the food, the exercise, and draw life and power from 
the vital air. Learn the art of breathing given in this book. If you 
can not breathe, practice Dr. Edwards' and the author's exercises by 
an open window. The chest is elastic and can be kept so if we use it 
rightly. Keep the mind and all the joints of the body in play by 
frequent use as long as you live. For the cough take honey, best 
Jamaica rum, raw linseed oil, equal parts; mix well, add one drachm 
of wild cherry extract. Dose, tablespoonful every hour. Also juice of 
lemons mixed with honey. Medicines the same as for colds. Baths, 
Turkish, sun, hot and cold bathing. (See Bathing.) 

CORPULENCY. 

Very corpulent people are neither strong nor vigorous, and an 
excess of this kind should be treated as an abnormal condition. 

Causes.— Heredity, excess of sweets, fine flour, sugar, potatoes, 
pastry, fats, or creams. Treatment.— Hot baths of all kinds, exercise, 
moderation in eating, friction over the entire body with a Turkish 
bath brush, very deep breathing a few minutes, three to four times a 
day. 

Diet,— Bread made from the entire wheat flour; beef, mutton, 
tongue, lobster, all kinds of fish, oysters, raw or cooked without flour, 
poultry, all kinds, but not thickened with flour ; lettuce, onions, aspara- 
gus, cold slaw, celery, string beans, sour apples, peaches, strawberries 
without cream or sugar, coffee and tea in moderation. Eat slowly, in 
moderate quantities, and take as little liquid as possible at meals. 

If constipated, wash the bowels and rectum every night with cold 
water. The bowels will regulate themselves after this diet has been 



GENERAL DISEASES. 553 

adhered to for a few days. Use injections to clear the rectum of feces 
until a natural movement has been restored. See Materia Medica for 
Constipation. 

CORNS. 

Treatment. —Bathe the feet well until the hard skin is softened 
about the corn, and apply strong nitric acid to the horny center, with 
a camePs hair brush. Then take a sharp penknife and peel away the 
soft, deadened skin. Apply the acid two or three times during the 
treatment. The acid destroys the horny center 

COUGH. 

Causes.— Taking cold; but a cough is also a symptom of some other 
troubles, such as bronchitis, dyspepsia, or consumption. It may also 
result from the use of tobacco, which produces a nervous cough. 

Treatment.— A cough, with a dry, inflamed throat, requires bella- 
donna, which should be taken as frequently as the severity of the case 
may justify. Six drops of the tincture in a glass of water ; a teaspoon- 
ful very twenty minutes. For a dry, hard, painful cough, with 
" stitches' ' in the chest, bryonia should be given in the same way as 
the belladonna. If the cough is caused by irritation owing to the poison 
of tobacco, give nux vomica, night and morning. For a loud, hollow, 
ringing cough, give spongia. For a short, hacking cough, with a tight 
feeling in the chest, and a frothy, rust-colored sputa, give phosphorus 
three times a day. 

CRAMPS. 

Cramps are a violent involuntary action of a few of the voluntary 
muscles. Causes.— Cramps of the muscles of the stomach and bowels 
are caused by worms, or by indigestible food, poisons or ice water. 
Cramps of the legs and arms occur in cholera. They may also be 
produced by exposure to cold, as in bathing, or may be the result of a 
deficient supply of blood to the parts. Treatment,— Hot poultice— a 
quart of scalded corn meal and two tablespoonfuls of red pepper and 
a tablespoonful of ground mustard placed between two flannel cloths 



554 GENERAL DISEASES. 

and laid over the bowels. If from worms, give cina or santonine, night 
and morning. 

DEAFNESS AND EARACHE. 
(Mullein Oil Treatment.) 

First, irrigate both ears with water as hot as can be borne, using 
two quarts of water and a fountain syringe. Follow the irrigation 
with an injection of three drops of mullein oil into each ear. Then place 
the thumb over the ear and massage the ear well, working the thumb 
in and out of the ear. Irrigate two or three times a week; use the oil 
every evening until the deafness is removed. Will cite several cases 
whe.re this treatment proved of utmost benefit. 

Dr. Gushing, of Springfield, Mass., relates the case of his father, 
who had been deaf for months and after but one treatment was well. 
Also, Dr. H. C. Houghton, the well known ear specialist of New York 
City, in the Homeopathic Recorder, tells of having prescribed it in a 
great number of cases with good results. 

Dr. Gushing also tells of a patient, aged about 60 years, who, after 
a few treatments, could hear a clock tick in an adjoining room. 

The author has used this treatment extensively in her practice, 
always followed by good results. 

DIABETES. 

Definition.— A constitutional disease characterized by an excessive 
discharge of pale, sweet and heavy urine, containing grape sugar. Dia- 
betes is a morbid condition of the blood, characterized by an abnormal 
increase of sugar. In healthy blood, it exists in an extremely minute 
quantity, and is most abundant a short time after meals. 

Causes.— Diabetes is considered by most physicians a nervous dis- 
ease, and incurable. There is a defect in the chemical process by which 
the sugar and starch of the food are appropriated to the nutrition of 
the body. The natural process is interrupted at the point where grape 
sugar is produced, and the excess of this substance in the blood is 
carried off by the kidneys. 



GENERAL DISEASES. 555 

Treatment.— The same as prescribed for Bright 's Disease. Deep 
breathing, and hot baths, concluding by sponging off with cold water, 
are most important. All diseases of the kidneys are curable under 
this treatment. The remedies used are phosphoric acid water, pre- 
pared as lemonade, for the thirst, and uranium nitricum, third tritura- 
tion. Give a powder every night. Diet.— The same as for Bright 's 
Disease. 

DIARRHOEA. 

Causes.— Usually, the causes are, taking cold, indigestion, or den- 
tition. Symptoms.— Frequent fluid evacuations from the bowels. 
Treatment.— If the attack is caused by taking cold, aconite should be 
given, in connection with a hot foot bath and hot applications over the 
bowels. If the result of indigestible food, nux vomica is the most ef- 
ficient remedy, in connection with the hot local applications. Food 
should be taken in liquid form, at regular intervals. Corn starch is 
excellent, as well as oatmeal or farina gruel. When diarrhoea is the 
result of teething, use chamomile. 

DROPSY. 

Causes.— Dropsy may be induced by chronic or acute disease of the 
kidneys, or by chronic disease of the liver. Dropsy of the brain or 
chest, by inflammation of the serous membranes. Symptoms.— Dropsy 
from disease of the kidneys, may early be noticed under the eyes; it 
also begins at about the same time in different parts of the body. It 
is accompanied by pain in the region of the kidneys, and scantiness of 
the urine. If the cause is in the liver, the swelling begins in the cavity 
of the abdomen, afterwards in the feet, and working upward in the 
same manner as in eases of heart or kidney disease. 

Dropsy of the brain is usually confined to children. 

Dropsy of the chest is generally the result of chronic pleurisy, 
as manifested in the swelling of the affected side of the chest. Treat- 
ment.— Arsenicum is one of the best remedies for dropsy of the tis- 
sues, from whatever cause* Apis mellifica is the best known remedy 



556 GENERAL DISEASES. 

for acute dropsy arising from disease of the kidneys. Hot baths are 
excellent; also bathing and friction over the region of the kidneys 
with alcohol. Excite capillary action by wearing a capcine belladonna 
plaster over the kidneys for two days, then remove and use the alcohol 
again in the same manner. In this way a healthy action of the kid- 
neys will be restored. Keep the feet warm, and bathe them every 
other day in hot and cold water alternately. 

DYSPEPSIA AND INDIGESTION. 

Causes.— Dyspepsia may be produced by various causes. It may 
result from an abnormal condition of the nervous system, or from 
overstimulating food or drink, such as mustard, pepper, fermented 
liquors, ice cream, tea or coffee. Worry and anxiety of the mind, or 
depression of the spirits from any cause, are the principal sources of 
dyspepsia. So long as the mind is dull and gloomy, from disappoint- 
ments in business or love, the effect is the same,— direct oppression 
of the vital forces. All food becomes poisonous to the system in time, 
if retained in the stomach until soured and fermented. Sour and fer- 
mented food produces acid blood. By the action of blood thus impov- 
erished, the mind becomes permanently gloomy, causing chronic dys- 
pepsia. 

Symptoms.— These complaints are readily recognized by the fol- 
lowing conditions ; namely, accumulation of wind, and the formation of 
acids in the stomach. The patient feels unfit for mental or physical 
labor; the hands and feet are generally cold. There is either a lack 
of appetite, or morbid craving for spicy and acid articles ; with a grad- 
ual failing in flesh and strength. 

Treatment.— Correct diet is of the most importance. Plain food 
is necessary, with no fluids at meals. Soups and fluids of every kind 
should be taken before meals, or two hours after. If corpulent or lean, 
avoid all sweets, and all strong acids. Abstain from a meal frequently, 
to give the stomach rest. Take hot baths of all kinds, keeping the 
feet warm by bathing frequently, and wearing thick-soled shoes. The 



GENEKAL DISEASES. 557 

remedies for dyspepsia are nux vomica, subnitrate of bismuth, and 
lacto pepsine. Mix, and take two grains after each meal. 

EARACHE. 

Causes.— Taking cold; the extension of inflammation, as in scarlet 
fever, chronic catarrh, etc. Symptoms.— Buzzing in the ears, with 
pain, headache, and dullness of hearing. Treatment.— Aconite in the 
first stage; copious hot douches into the ear by means of a fountain 
syringe. Also mix a few drops of chloroform with a teaspoonful of 
cosmoline, place on cotton batting and lay in the ear. 

EPILEPSY. 

Symptoms.— Sudden loss of consciousness, and disturbances in the 
form of more or less severe convulsions. These attacks recur at irregu- 
lar periods in the beginning of the disease. Causes.— Hereditary dis- 
position, digestive disturbances, masturbation, over-exertion, and great 
fatigue. The loss of consciousness may be either sudden and complete, 
the patient being stricken down as if by lightning, or it may be a little 
more gradual; in this case, the patient, when falling, partly realizes 
his condition, and endeavors to save himself from injury. Treat- 
ment.— The patient should be firmly held, or sufficiently restrained 
to prevent self-injury. After the attack, allow him to sleep as long 
as possible. Belladonna should be given in the premonitory stage, if 
there is congestion in the face, or headache. Nux vomica is useful 
between attacks, to regulate the digestive functions. 

ERYSIPELAS. 

This disease is caused by exposure to cold, by wounds, or contagion. 
At first, the eruption is of a bright red color, later assuming a livid 
hue. There is a constant burning of the skin, and sometimes pus is 
formed and discharged. Treatment.— Veratrum veride is the specific 
remedy for this disease. Aconite and belladonna, in alternation, are 
the best remedies in the early stage. Cantharis, ten drops in one pint 
of water, is the best local application. Wet a linen handkerchief in 

32 V. 



558 GENERAL DISEASES. 

the lotion and spread over the face or any part of the body where the 
eruption appears. 

SYNCOPE OR FAINTING. 

Causes.— Sudden fright, violent injuries, severe pains, oppressive 
odors, the presence of indigestible matter in the stomach, loss of blood. 
Treatment.— Ammonia or camphor held to the nostrils. The patient 
should lie flat on the floor, or a bed, and the feet placed first in hot 
water 2 then in cold. 

FELON. 

Causes.— Blows and bruises, or an impoverished state of the blood. 
Symptoms.— Loss of appetite, with headache, backache, and pain in 
the limbs. The patient is feverish, and unable to sleep, with flushed 
face and strong pulse. Treatment.— Dip the felon in lye water, to 
keep it soft, or apply a soap poultice. When the part begins to swell, 
lance it to the bone. Give two grains of silicia, third decimal tritura- 
tion, three to four times a day. 

FEVERS OF INFANTS AND CHILDREN. 

Feverish conditions are apt to arise in children during infancy and 
early childhood. The child's head is hot, the face flushed and the eyes 
bright. These fevers are generally transient and need occasion no 
alarm, but should be given prompt and proper attention. 

Treatment.— Tincture of aconite, six drops to a glass full of water; 
santonine, two grains to a glass of water. Alternate, giving a teaspoon- 
ful every quarter of an hour. If the above do not have the desired 
effect, see the chapter on teething. 

GALL STONES. 

This disease is characterized by a severe pain in the region of the 
liver, that stops as soon as the gall stone leaves the duct. Treatment.— 
Give two ounces of pure olive oil every three hours until the pain 
ceases. Nux vom. 3d, and colocynth, a dose alternately until relieved ; 
hot applications to the painful part. China is the remedy to prevent 



GENERAL DISEASES. 559 

the formation of gall stone. A dose should be taken night and morn- 
ing for six months or more. 

GOITEE. 

Goitre is an enlargement of the thyroid gland, or a thickening of 
the neck, and is of slow growth. In time this gland becomes enormously 
swollen, producing shortness of breath, and in some cases, obstructing 
the circulation of blood in the brain. 

Treatment.— Give two grains of spongia three times a day, or two 
drops of the tincture in glass of water. As an external treatment, bathe 
the neck daily with cold salt water. 

GOUT. 

This is an inflammatory disease produced by morbid matter in 
the blood. Causes.— Luxurious living and the use of intoxicating 
drinks; also taking cold. Symptoms.— Pain in the small joints, com- 
mencing in the great toe, the heel, the knee, the hand, the wrist, or the 
elbow. Treatment.— Wrap the afflicted parts in cotton batting. Make 
a liniment of one pint of sweet oil and one ounce of ammonia. Mix, 
and apply freely. Give colchicum tincture internally, four or five 
drops in a little water every hour. Also make frequent use of hot 
baths. The diet should be light, with no animal food or pastry. 

GBAVEL. 

Causes.— Exposure to cold, extreme fatigue, hereditary tendency, 
and luxurious living. Symptoms.— Uneasiness in the back and loins, 
thirst, a dry tongue, and constipation. Treatment.— Avoid all intoxi- 
cating drinks, taking soft or boiled water only. Chamomile tea will 
aid in dissolving the stone, and tends to prevent its formation. Take 
from one to four teaspoonfuls of olive oil before breakfast. 

HAY FEVEB. 

This is a supersensitive condition of the mucous membrane, aggra- 
vated by the pollen of various growths, principally the ragweed. Treat- 
ment.— Turkish baths, or hot baths of any kind, concluding with cold 



560 GENERAL DISEASES. 

water. Electricity, scientifically applied, is also beneficial. The posi- 
tive pole should always be used internally over the highly irritable 
mucous surface, with a small nasal electrode covered with a fine sponge. 
Make a bath of some kind a daily custom. Patients addicted to the 
use of tobacco cannot be cured unless this habit is discontinued, as the 
poison of tobacco nullifies any remedy. Take iodide of potassium, 
five grains, in a glass of water ; a tablespoonful every hour. 

HEADACHE. 

Treatment.— When headache results from cold, bathe the feet in 
hot and cold water, alternately. Aconite is the remedy. For periodical 
headaches, omit food twenty-four hours. Ignatia 3d is the remedy. 
Headache occurring before and after menstruation should be treated 
with nux vomica and Pulsatilla; if caused by anxiety or excitement, 
give ignatia, third attenuation, in water, every hour. Bryonia will 
cure a headache which is more painful when the patient moves about. 
This headache is characterized by irritability. 

DISEASE OF THE HEAET. 

The most common disease of the heart is fluttering and palpita- 
tion. The distinction between organic and functional diseases of the 
heart is far from being easily made. The causes of heart diseases are 
constitutional tendencies, grief, melancholy, shocks, disappointments 
in love, financial losses, excesses of life, intemperance, and dyspepsia. 
Treatment : Hot baths, compresses to the heart, cactus grandiflora, 
digitalis, tinctures; two drops of the digitalis in full glass of water, 
tablespoonful every hour; of the cactus grandiflora, 6 drops of the 
tincture in full glass, tablespoonful every hour ; avoid all excitements, 
anger, grief and worry. Abstain from coffee, tea, and potatoes, and 
select food most easily digested. Cultivate repose and tranquillity of 
mind. 

PALPITATION OF THE HEAET. 

The most common disease of the heart is palpitation, caused by 
mental troubles, dyspepsia, suppressed menstruation, or an impover- 



GENERAL DISEASES. 561 

ished condition of the blood. If the disease results from mental 
troubles, give ignatia. If from dyspepsia, nux vomica and Pulsatilla. 
If caused by worms, give santonine or cina. Pulsatilla is the best 
remedy if the patient is suffering from suppressed menstruation. 
Cactus grandiflora is also good. (See Materia Medica.) 

HIP DISEASE. 

The location of the pain is foreign to the real seat of the disease, 
the pain being in the knee, foot or leg ; the foot or leg is turned inward 
against the other. As the disease advances, there is pain and swelling 
in the hip. Causes.— Falls, and bruises to the hip joint; dislocations, 
scrofula. Treatment.— Ostine No. 2 (see index). Diet.— Nutritious 
food, nuts, fruits; fresh air; frequent bathing. 

HOARSENESS OR LOSS OF VOICE. 

when caused by a cold, generally disappears with the cold in the head 
or cough that gave rise to it. If it shows a tendency to be chronic it 
should receive treatment. Aconite and bryonia; of each six drops in 
a full glass of water; a dose every thirty minutes. Poultice of hot 
corn meal with a tablespoonful of red pepper and tablespoonful of 
ground mustard. Mix and place between two cloths, cover the chest 
and throat. Make the poultices as thick as corn meal mush. Take hot 
baths. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 

Causes.— Taking cold, intoxicating drink, cold feet, too long reten- 
tion of urine. Symptoms.— Pain and weight in the sides and lower part 
of abdomen. Treatment.— Aconite is the remedy in the first stage, 
given in alternation with cantharis; also hot baths. Eest in bed is 
necessary. Apply external heat over bladder, give mucilaginous drinks, 
plain food, and see that the bowels are kept regular. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 

This is an inflammation of the inner covering of the bowels; the 
mucous membrane. It is known by a griping pain about the navel and 



562 GENERAL DISEASES. 

a tenderness in the abdomen on pressure or motion. The usual causes 
are inclement weather and attacks of gastritis. Diet.— Light, nutri- 
tious food only, preferably liquids. Treatment.— Same as peritonitis; 
see index. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN, OR MENINGITIS. 

Symptoms.— Meningitis is characterized by rigors, a hot, dry skin, 
hard and frequent pulse, hurried respiration, depression of spirits, 
vertigo, intense headache, loss of appetite, vomiting and constipation. 
The eyes have a wild expression. Delirium sets in early, the patient 
being noisy, violent and restless. These symptoms continue three or 
four days, after which the fever abates, the pulse flags, the tongue is 
dry and brown, and the delirium is apt to pass into stupor or coma. 
In a few days there is extreme prostration, the symptoms resembling 
those of typhus fever. When the disease terminates favorably, the 
improvement is gradual. 

Treatment.— Gelsemium or veratrum veride every half hour. 
Bathe the feet in hot water, then cold, alternating in this way for thirty 
minutes, two or three times a day, gradually increasing the tempera- 
ture of the hot water, and decreasing that of the cold. Also bathe the 
head in hot water, then in cold. In the intervals of treatment, keep a 
wet cloth on the head. Induce free perspiration. The nourishment 
should be mild, such as lamb broth, and gruels made from the cereals. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BREASTS. 

This develops chiefly during the period of nursing. Causes.— Stag- 
nation of the milk within the glands, from taking cold, or external in- 
juries. Symptoms.— Cold chills and rigors, with severe pain in the 
breasts, which feel hard and congested. Treatment.— Aconite every 
half hour. Prepare a poultice of flaxseed, adding a teaspoonful of 
black pepper. Mix thoroughly and spread on a cloth the size of the 
breast, cutting a hole for the nipple. Soak the feet in hot salt water, 
and remain in bed, covering warmly, keeping an even heat over the 
entire body. 



GENERAL DISEASES. 563 

INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER, 

or congestion of the liver, is characterized by a feeling of soreness and 
tenderness upon pressure below the ribs, usually in the right side. 
Often this tenderness amounts to a dull, heavy, aching pain. These 
symptoms are accompanied by a tired, worn-out feeling, loss of appe- 
tite, heavily coated tongue, the bowels are generally constipated, occa- 
sionally there is a greenish appearance to the skin, and the whites of 
the eyes look yellow. Treatment.— Podophyllum and nux vomica, given 
in alternation, six drops of nux vomica in a glass of water, and six 
drops of the tincture of podophyllum in another glass. Dose.— A table- 
spoonful every hour until relieved. Apply plain hot water compresses 
to the afflicted side, or a capcine and corn meal plaster. Drink freely of 
hot water ; avoid eating for a day. Light, vegetable diet, with fruits. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE THROAT. 

This is an inflammation of the upper and back portions of the throat. 
Symptoms.— Pain, swelling, and a dark red color of the mucous mem- 
brane. In the chronic condition, ulcers may appear scattered over the 
surface. Treatment.— Belladonna, 3d attenuation. Gargle the throat 
with alcohol and water, equal parts, every hour. 

JAUNDICE. 

Symptoms.— Yellowness of the skin and whites of the eyes. Treat- 
ment.— Hot baths of all kinds, and hygienic living. Massage the liver 
every night with olive oil. Podophyllum and nux vomica, same as for 
inflammation of the liver. 

LEANNESS AND NERVOUSNESS. 

Causes.— Excess of sweets, acids, spices, fine flour, pastry, mental 
worry, or weak digestion. Thin people having a weak digestion are 
often kept thin by the same food which causes others to be corpulent. 
If the starch, butter and fine flour cannot be digested, the system is kept 
in a feverish, dyspeptic state, and nervousness or consumption results 



564 GENEEAL DISEASES. 

for no other reason than that life is burned out by a diet which only 
produces heat and does not renew the tissues. Treatment.— Attend 
well to cleanliness, so as to eliminate all impure secretions that tend 
to the surface. This aids in purifying the blood and strengthening 
the muscles. Hot baths are best, such as are directed for corpulency, 
except that a thin person should use oils very often after hot baths, 
rubbing well into the skin, with a piece of flannel or Trukish bath towel, 
until the skin is dry and soft. This induces a feeling of strength and 
health. Practice the deep breathing two or three minutes from three 
to five times daily. 

NAUSEA, OR VOMITING. 

Causes.— Eating improper food, inflammation of the kidneys, preg- 
nancy, overeating, indigestible food, scarlet fever, small-pox, intermit- 
tent fever. Treatment.— Drink a tumbler of hot water to expel the 
offending substance, and abstain from all food for twenty-four hours or 
more. Use an injection of warm water in the rectum, to remove all 
accumulated fecal matter. Eest and do nothing else, until the dis- 
turbance abates. 

ACUTE NEPHRITIS. 

Symptoms.— Chilliness, vomiting, pain each side of the spine just 
above the hip bone, and painless swelling of the feet, legs and other 
parts of the body. The urine thickens if boiled, showing the presence 
of albumen. Causes.— It has been found by experiment, that out of 
two hundred cases, sixty-eight were produced by intoxicating drink and 
taking cold ; sixty by exposure, and twenty-five by scarlet fever. Treat- 
ment.— Give the patient hot baths, exciting perspiration as soon as 
possible. In this way the skin is kept moist during the course of the 
disease. Bathe the spine and the region of the kidneys three or four 
times a day with alcohol, diluted one-third with hot water. Aconite 3d 
is the remedy used for the chilliness, fever, thirst and scanty urine, 
arsenicum 6th for dropsical swelling, mercurius corrosivus for mucus, 
blood or pus in the urine. Apis mellifica^ sixth decimal trituration, 



GENERAL DISEASES. 565 

may also be given in alternation with arsenicum for dropsical swelling. 
Diet.— Abstain from all solid food for a few days, using only slippery 
elm tea, crust coffee, and lemonade without ice. 

If the above remedies cannot be procured, take four drops of aconite 
tincture in a half glass of water ; teaspoonful of the medicated water 
every twenty minutes until moisture of the skin is established; then 
give every hour. 

DISEASES OF THE NOSE. 

General observations.— An habitual pointed nose denotes derange- 
ment in the mesenteric glands of the bowels, and generally atrophy. 
When the nose becomes suddenly pointed in children, it denotes an im- 
pending spasm. A thick, swollen nose indicates inflammation, if ac- 
companied by pain, heat and redness, or scrofula; rachitic diseases. 
If the nose becomes suddenly pointed during the act of parturition, it 
indicates internal hemorrhage, complete exhaustion, or threatening con- 
vulsions. 

The pointed nose of a nursing mother indicates her complete unfit- 
ness for that office. When observed during severe illness, it is always 
a grave symptom, indicating extreme exhaustion and collapse. A heavy 
motion of the nasal wings during respiration is a sign of impeded 
respiration, due either to asthma, pneumonia, croup, dropsy in the 
chest, or incipient paralysis of the respiratory muscles; also utter 
prostration. 

Circumscribed redness of the point of the nose, cheeks, and fore- 
head, with paleness, denotes, in pneumonia, that suppuration has taken 
place. 

A coppery, shining redness of the root of the nose, is a sign of 
existing syphilitic ulcers within the nose. 

An habitual cold nose is found in disordered states of the abdominal 
viscera, in dropsical complaints, and in chlorosis. 

A grayish, lead-colored nose is found in dropsy of the chest and 
pericardium, in induration of the lungs, and in some malignant forms 
of typhoid fever. 






566 GENERAL DISEASES. 

Single, lead-colored stripes on the nose have been observed in 
obstruction of the portal vein. 

A bluish color of the nose is found occasionally in apoplexy, croup, 
diseases of the lungs, heart, and larger blood vessels; in short, in all 
morbid conditions which cause stagnation of the blood. 

Brownish, yellowish spots on and over the nose, in the form of a 
saddle, usually indicate a diseased liver, or chronic leucorrhoea. 

"A blackish fur at the base of the nostrils, is found in typhus epi- 
demic, dysentery, cholera; in fact, in any condition of great prostra- 
tion. ' '— Cowperthwaite. 

PARALYSIS OF THE BLADDER. 

This occurs more frequently in people of advanced age. Electricity 
is most effectual in its removal. 

PERITONITIS. 

Causes.— Absorption of animal poisons after childbirth, surgical 
injuries. Ushered in with chills, fever, and small, quick, hard pulse. 
Also extreme pain, and tenderness of the abdomen. See " Peritonitis ; 
Author's Experience. ' ' 

EXCESSIVE PERSPIRATION. 

Ammonia bath once a month. Half pint of ammonia to the full 
bath of hot water, tablespoonful of borax in the water ; wash off with 
good soap ; let the water gradually cool ; wipe dry. Replace the natural 
oil of the body with olive oil and a teaspoonful of alcohol 4Z. Mix; 
rub all over the body, including the scalp. Wonderfully strengthening 
to the sweat glands and general system. 

HEMORRHOIDS OR PILES. 

Piles are formed by an accumulation of blood in the small branches 
of the veins. This blood coagulates, and forms a complete obstruction 
to the venous circulation. Piles are rendered more common by habitual 
constipation, pregnancy, abdominal tumors, inflammation of the vagina, 
displacement of the womb, diseases of the bladder, and pin worms in 



GENEEAL DISEASES. 



567 



the rectum. Treatment.— Internal and external piles should be bathed 
daily with cold water. Also bathe the lower part of the spine. The 
extended intestine should be replaced after each evacuation, by the 
forefinger, well oiled and pushed up the rectum as far as possible. 
Bathe the parts thoroughly with cold water. Inflammation and swell- 
ing can be reduced by the application of very hot water, followed by 
cold, and the use of a cold wet compress at night. Constipation must 
be avoided. Use Tricura Capsules. (See Materia Medica.) 

PNEUMONIA. 

This is an inflammation of the lung-tissue. It is generally sudden 
in its appearance and manifests itself by a severe chill, soon followed 
by a high fever. A hard, dry, painful cough comes on, with difficult 
breathing, and a dull, heavy, aching pain in the chest, especially aggra- 
vated by breathing and coughing. 

The pain at first is wandering, but finally fixes itself, usually just 
below the nipple on either the right or left side. The cough is dry 
and hard for the first two or three days, but then changes to one with 
a rust-colored, tough mucus, which is raised with much difficulty. As 
the disease advances the expectorated substance has a very offensive 
odor. 

Diet.— Liquids, such as hot soups, hot lemonade, oatmeal gruel. 

Treatment.— Take six drops of tincture of aconite in a glass of 
water; six drops of tincture of bryonia in another glass of water. 
Dose.— Alternate, taking one teaspoonful every thirty minutes. Apply 
corn meal poultice to the chest as for hoarseness. 

RHEUMATISM (ACUTE). 

This occurs suddenly, with a chill, then often a high fever; there 
is soreness, extreme tenderness and painfulness of a joint, which be- 
comes red and swollen. 

Treatment.— Belladonna and bryonia; six drops of the tincture of 
each in separate glasses of water. Dose.— Alternate, teaspoonful every 
half hour. "Wrap the afflicted joint in a cloth saturated with a solution 



568 GENERAL DISEASES. 

of vinegar and salt, using as much salt as the vinegar will dissolve. 
Place hot water bags, bricks or flatirons around the part. 

SCURVY. 

is characterized by a peculiar, debilitated state of the system; a de- 
praved condition of the blood, especially of the gums. 

Causes.— Exposure to cold and wet; deficient ventilation, unwhole- 
some food, to the exclusion of vegetables and fruits, too much salt 
meat, impure water, want of cleanliness, debility or old age. Treat- 
ment.— Hot and cold bathing, plenty of lemonade, wash the surface 
with citric acid water. Diet.— Plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit; 
fresh air. (See chapter on "A Breath of Air.") 

SEASICKNESS. 

Phosphoric acid, six drops in a glass of water, taken daily, is a 
prevention of this complaint. Eat sparingly the first two or three 
days, or until the system becomes accustomed to the swaying of the 
boat. 

Vomiting.— This is generally the result of overloading the stomach, 
and requires no treatment. 

SOFTENING OF THE BRAIN. 

Causes.— Imperfect nutrition, alcoholic drinks, tobacco, injuries to 
the brain, growth of tumors upon the inner surface of the skull. 

Symptoms.— Similar to those in inflammation of the brain. There is 
an impairment of the intellectual faculties, embarrassment in asking 
questions, melancholy, drowsiness, particularly after eating, impaired 
vision and hearing, and pricking and twitching of the limbs, sometimes 
accompanied by pain, or by numbness. In the inflammatory form, the 
limbs are more frequently the seat of painful cramps, stiffness, and 
contraction. There may be nausea, constipation, difficult matricula- 
tion, and labored respiration, which becomes stertorous towards the 
last. A state of coma ensues, which may pass off in a day or two, but 
only to return and become more profound, until terminating fatally. 



GENERAL DISEASES. 



569 



Softening of the brain occurs more frequently after the fiftieth year, 
although it is possible at any period of life. 

Treatment.— Turkish and vapor baths, hot and cold foot baths, 
daily. Rest from mental application is necessary, also abstaining from 
all liquors. If addicted to the use of tobacco, the habit must be dis- 
continued. Diet.— Select food from that prescribed for lean and ner- 
vous people. The best remedies are, phosphoric acid prepared as 
lemonade, and nux vomica, 3d trituration, three times a day. Take 
plenty of outdoor exercise, and live in an atmosphere of music and 
agreeable company. This will assist in maintaining a cheerful frame 
of mind. (See Brain Food in Materia Medica.) 

SORE THROAT AND QUINSY. 

These affections will be considered under one head, as the treat- 
ment is nearly identical. Either can be occasionally aborted during 
the feverish state by the medicines and treatment recommended under 
Colds, but it is best to begin at once the alternate administration of 
Belladonna and Merc, biniod. a dose every hour for six doses, then 
every two or three hours. 

A cold compress on the throat, covered with a dry flannel, aids 
greatly in sore throat and during the first stage of quinsy; but if an 
abscess forms, apply a hot corn meal poultice with a tablespoonful of 
red pepper and a tablespoonful of ground mustard mixed into the hot 
mush ; or a poultice of raisins. 



VARICOSE VEINS. 

Causes.— Pregnancy, leading to pressure of the uterus on the blcod 
vessels; congestion. Symptoms.— Enlarged, distended veins, swelling 
and pain in the legs. Treatment.— Adopt a fruit diet, avoiding all food 
leading to thickened blood or congestion; wear a silk elastic stocking 
on the affected limb, over a gauze stocking; and if the veins become 
more painful, it is best to call in a physician, as it may be necessary to 
have them enveloped in mild plasters, and then rolled. 



570 GENERAL DISEASES. 

FOMENTATION. 

Every home should have a pair of fomentation cloths in its emer- 
gency outfit. These are pieces of woolen blankets nearly a yard square. 

To give a fomentation: Place one of the cloths dry over the part 
affected, being careful not to expose any part of the body. Fold the 
other blanket twice lengthwise, then by holding firmly at each end dip 
it in boiling water nearly to the ends, see that it is wet through, then 
begin twisting each end in an opposite direction until it is quite tight, 
then stretch it above the vessel of boiling water so that the water 
drips into it. Keep the cloth so wrung until you reach your patient 
when it should be opened large enough to cover the afflicted part ; fold 
the ends of dry cloth over it. 

A little practice will enable anyone to wring a cloth so dry and 
hot in this way that it will remain hot for ten minutes. This should 
be repeated three or four times or until relief is obtained, when the 
part should be cooled off by a sponging of cold water and quickly 
dried. 

To apply to the head, spine or extremities it is best to fold the hot 
damp cloth in the dry one and apply all at once to the part. 

Unless this treatment can be skillfully given— i. e., so as to avoid 
exposing the patient by wet clothing or to cold air, poultices had better 
be used. 

FOMENTATION NO. 2 

consists of cloths wrung out of hot water, placed over some dormant, 
stiff or troubled part of the body and covered with a dry towel or 
flannel. These fomentations are made of hops. A soft rubber water 
bag filled with hot water is much better; it can be placed under the 
spine during the passing of calculi, or can cover the lungs or womb. 

INTERNAL USE OF WATER. 

Observation and experience teach that the free use of drinking 
water is a necessity. All solids give way to a fluid. Water is the 
system's natural purifier. A full glass of cold water should be drunk 



GENERAL DISEASES. 571 

every hour by those who are well and desire to remain well ; while in 
sickness, the plentiful drinking of water serves to increase the activity 
of the skin, and kidneys, thus assisting in throwing off the disease. 
"Water and air are nature's disinfectants in or out of the body. The 
most obstinate stomach troubles are curable by drinking a glass of 
very hot water in the morning before breakfast, followed by a half 
cup of very hot water containing a tablespoonful of the best olive oil. 
The above treatment must be continued for several weeks to get per- 
manent results. Apply a compress of cold water over the stomach and 
heart at night, covered with dry flannel. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 

Be Prepared Beforehand — Quick and Effective Action — Bruises — Splinters — Cuts— Lacera- 
tions — Profuse Bleeding — Nail Wounds in Foot — Lockjaw — Nosebleed — Stings — Bites 
from Serpents — Bites from Mad Dogs — Poison Ivy, etc. — Sprains — Broken Bones — 
Cramps — Poisoning — Chill from Dampness — Freezing — Restoring the Drowned — Falling 
into the Water — Choking — Swallowing Pins, etc. — Foreign Bodies in Eye or Ear — 
Stunned from a Fall — Escape from Fire — Clothing on Fire — Burns — Scalds— Powder 
Burns. 

EVERY household is subject to occasional mishaps, and it is well 
to be prepared to think and act quickly and effectively when 
these times come. I give some hints, therefore, as to a number of the 
emergencies and accidents which most frequently occur. 

BRUISES; TO PREVENT AND CURE. 

Children in playing often fall or otherwise hurt themselves, result- 
ing in the discolored, swollen spots known as bruises. These come 
from the rupture of small blood vessels and the blood escaping from 
them. Either hot or cold water, arnica or witch hazel extract, applied 
to the surface, immediately, will ease the pain and contract the blood 
vessels. This prevents the escape of the blood, and its consequent 
changes, which, if allowed to proceed, would make the flesh at that 
point successively blue, bluish-green, green, and yellow ; finally return- 
ing to its normal color, as the escaped blood is gradually absorbed. 
Its absorption will be hastened by applying vaseline or olive oil twice 
daily. 

TO EXTRACT A SPLINTER 

from a child's hand, fill a wide-mouthed bottle half full of very hot 
water and place its mouth under the injured spot. If a little pressure 
is used the steam in a few moments will extract the splinter. 

572 



ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 



573 



OUTS. 

Before bandaging a cut wash it thoroughly with some antiseptic 
solution. When it is perfectly clean bring the edges together and hold 
in place with warm strips of adhesive plaster. Leave a place between 
them for the escape of blood, and apply a dressing of absorbent gauze. 
When the wound is entirely healed the plaster may be easily removed 
by moistening at first with alcohol. 

If no adhesive plaster is at hand, for a slight cut hold the part 
in a basin of tepid water while someone prepares a small pad of clean 
linen or cotton folded, to place against the wound. Bind it on with a 
narrow bandage, wet with arnica if the cut is painful. Do not bandage 
too thickly. A small pad will arrest bleeding quite as well as a larger 
one. 

LACERATIONS. 

These, generally caused by some blunt instrument such as a nail or 
piece of broken crockery, require somewhat different treatment from 
an ordinary cut. Tepid water poured over it from a height of ten or 
twelve inches will cleanse it best. It may be then gently dried by 
patting the surface with a soft napkin or towel, after which it should be 
dressed with carbolated vaseline, and bandaged. 

ABRASIONS. 

Falling on some hard, rough surface like the dry earth or gravel, 
will scrape the skin, causing abrasions. These, like lacerations, should 
be thoroughly cleansed with tepid water, gently dried and dressed with 
carbolated vaseline. 

TO ARREST PROFUSE BLEEDING. 

It sometimes saves life for one to know the difference between 
blood from an artery, which is bright red and escapes in jets or spurts, 
and blood from a vein, which is bluish-red and trickles steadily. If an 
artery in a limb is cut, place a finger firmly just above the wound, 
between it and the heart. Send for a surgeon immediately, and mean- 
while, to relieve the person holding the finger as described, take A 
33 v. 



574 ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 

square piece of cloth cornerwise, twist it and tie a hard knot in the 
middle. Place the knot over the artery, between the wound and the 
heart; bring the ends around the limb and tie loosely; place a stick 
under the last tie and twist it until the end of the artery is closed; 
and the finger pressure is no longer needed. 

While awaiting the doctor's arrival, keep the patient quiet, with 
hot water bottles to his feet, give him nourishing drinks and let him 
drink all the water possible. 

NAIL WOUNDS IN THE FOOT. 

To relieve from the suffering produced by running a nail in the 
foot of a horse or man, take peach leaves, bruise them, apply to the 
wound, and confine with a bandage. They give relief almost imme- 
diately and help to heal the wound. Renew the application twice a 
day if necessary, but one application goes far to destroy the pain. 

TURPENTINE FOB LOCKJAW. 

A simple remedy recommended for lockjaw is ordinary turpentine. 
Warm a small quantity of the liquid and pour it on the wound, no 
matter where the wound is, and relief will follow immediately. Noth- 
ing better can be applied to a severe cut or bruise than cold turpentine, 
which is very prompt in its action. 

NOSEBLEED. 

Bathe the face in cold water ; press with the finger upon the small 
arteries of the side of the nose, or between the eyes; or apply ice to 
the nose, middle of the forehead or back of the neck. 

STINGS OF INSECTS. 

A beekeeper advises that those who are around bees should have a 
small bottle of tincture of myrrh. As soon as one is stung apply a 
little of the tincture to the sting, when the pain and swelling cease. It 
will also serve well for bites of spiders and poisonous reptiles. 

OTHER REMEDIES FOR STINGS. 

If an onion be scraped and the juicy part applied to the sting of 
wasps or bees the pain will be relieved quickly. Ammonia applied to 



ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 575 

a bite from a poisonous snake, or any poisonous animal, or sting of 
an insect, will go far toward completely curing the injury. It is one 
of the most convenient caustics to apply to the bite of a mad dog. 

Another remedy for insect bites is to dissolve one ounce of borax 
in a pint of water and bathe the parts affected. This is good for the 
irritation of mosquito bites and even for prickly heat and like summer 
irritations. For the stings of bees and wasps the solution should be 
twice as strong. Or a teaspoonful of salt and another of soda in a 
little warm water may be used in the same way. 

BITES FROM POISONOUS SERPENTS. 

If the bite is on an arm, limb, hand or foot, the first thing to be 
done is to bind a ligature or cord very tightly between the wound and 
the heart, so as to keep the poison from circulating through the system. 
Then the affected part should have the poison sucked out. No danger 
attends this unless a cut or sore exists on the lips or in the mouth. 
A few drops of sweet oil taken in the mouth before beginning will 
insure exemption from any disagreeable results. If water is at hand, 
make a mud poultice and apply to the wound until a caustic can be 
obtained. Then wash the wound thoroughly, cauterize freely with 
nitrate of silver, ammonia, or other caustic, and give the patient tonics 
and nourishing food. 

RATTLESNAKE BITES CURED WITH SWEET OIL. 

Few people know that sweet oil, the common olive oil of commerce, 
the salad oil used on our tables, is a specific for rattlesnake bites. 
Use both internally and externally. Give the patient a teaspoonful 
of oil every hour while the nausea lasts. Dip pieces of cotton two 
inches square in the oil and lay the saturated cloth over the wound. 
In twenty minutes or less bubbles and froth will begin to appear on the 
surface of the cloth. Eemove the square, burn it, and replace it with 
a fresh square until all the swelling has subsided. Where rattlesnakes 
abound every household should keep a six or eight ounce vial of the 
best oil ready for emergencies. Avoid rancid or adulterated oil. No 
whiskey or other stimulant is needed. 



576 ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 

MAD DOG BITES. 

Take the same precautions as in snake-bites to prevent the poison 
from circulating through the system. Apply a ligature between the 
wound and the heart; then the wound should be first sucked, next 
washed, and caustic applied. A physician should be called as quickly 
as possible, and the dog must be either shot at once, or if any doubt 
exists as to whether it had hydrophobia, it should be kept confined 
until the facts are known. 

POISON IVY, OAK AND SUMAC. 

It is unfortunate that some of the most attractive plants that grow 
in woods, ivy, oak and sumac, for instance, are poisonous in their 
effects. They act differently, however, on different people, for some 
seem not to be susceptible under any circumstances, while others are 
poisoned by simple contact with clothing that has touched the noxious 
plant. The remedies likewise do not in every case affect people with 
the same degree of success. 

Various remedies are used in case of poisoning from ivy. The 
affected parts may be bathed with water in which hemlock twigs or 
oak leaves have been steeped. Fresh lime water and wet salt are 
likewise good. Spirits of niter will help to heal the parts when bathed 
freely with it. Another plan is to bathe the poisoned part thoroughly 
with clear hot water, and when dry paint the place freely three or four 
times a day with a feather dipped in strong tincture of lobelia. A 
similar application of gelsemium sempervirens (yellow jessamine) is 
likewise very effective. Permanganate of potash is also an excellent 
remedy. Dissolve a few crystals in hot water till of a light wine color 
and after cooling bathe the parts frequently with it. 

SPRAINS. 

These occur when, from a sudden irregular movement, or a fall, 
the ligaments about the joints are stretched, twisted or torn. Usually 
some of the small blood vessels are also ruptured, and the surrounding 
tissues injured. There is always more or less inflammation. 



ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 577 

Bathe the part with hot or cold water and arnica or witch hazel, 
as for a bruise. If the sprain is in an ankle or knee, let the patient 
sit in one chair with the injured limb extended on a pillow in another 
chair. Apply a compress and bind the leg and pillow firmly but not 
too tightly together. If the sprain is severe, the patient should be 
placed in bed; and in all cases where recovery does not ensue within 
a few days, a physician should be called, for some sprains are more 
serious than broken bones. 

When the sprain is in the wrist or elbow, if severe, the patient 
should lie in bed with the affected arm upon a pillow ; if slight, he may 
go about with it in a sling. Frequent bathing with arnica or witch 
hazel assists nature in removing the soreness. As soon as exercise 
of the injured limb is possible, practice light movements so as to pre- 
vent any permanent stiffness. 

BROKEN BONES. 

A bone fracture may be simple or compound ; the bone only may be 
broken, or there may be combined with it the injury to an artery, nerve- 
center, or joint; or there may be a wound opening to the surface; or 
the bone may be splintered. The accident usually occurs in the limbs, 
and may be known by an unusual twisting, bending, or shortening of 
the injured member. 

Send at once for the surgeon, but before attempting to move the 
patient, gently cut away the clothing from the broken arm or leg, and 
let one person take hold of the injured limb below the break and pull 
firmly, steadily, but of course, not roughly, until it reaches its normal 
length. This will ease the patient, as it pulls the bone fragments from 
the surrounding tissue and prevents painful muscular contractions. 
A temporary splint dressing may then be applied, made of shingle or 
lath. Place pads above and below the fracture and secure the splints 
to them with a cord in such a way as to hold the limb in normal posi- 
tion. The person holding the broken limb may then release it, and the 
patient can be taken home. In preparing his bed, it must be made 
firm, with neither springs nor feathers ; just the mattress, sheets and 
covers. 



578 ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 

CRAMP. 

Muscular contractions occurring after any unusual exertion cause 
the sudden, severe pains called cramps. Liniments may be applied, 
but often rubbing the affected part briskly with the hand is all that is 
necessary. When cramps come during sea bathing, throw the affected 
arm or leg suddenly and vigorously out of the water; this usually 
relieves it; and try to reach the shore as soon as possible. Hot appli- 
cations are best for cramps in the stomach or bowels, often caused by 
indigestion. 

POISONING. 

Those who carelessly leave external applications, lotions, liniments, 
etc., unlabeled, or who leave them standing within reach of children, 
or who try to find and take medicine in the dark, are liable to have 
some startling experiences. Many liniments contain opium, a tea- 
spoonful of which would cause the death of a child ; many lotions con- 
tain sugar of lead, which is also poisonous. 

When poison has been swallowed, every instant of time is valuable. 
Call a physician, and immediately go to work to empty the stomach. 
A safe emetic is made of a tablespoonful of ground mustard to a half- 
cup of warm water. Give only half of it at first, then in fifteen 
minutes the other half unless vomiting has resulted. Let the patient 
drink copiously of warm water besides; it helps to dilute the poison 
and so weaken its effect before it can permeate the system. For the 
same reason, if pain in the bowels indicates that some of the poison 
has reached that portion, inject warm water repeatedly. 

Most poisons have their antidotes. If nitric, sulphuric, muriatic 
or oxalic acid has been swallowed, give quickly either magnesia, soap- 
suds or chalk, to neutralize the effect on the lining of the stomach. 

If potash, lye, ammonia or soda in too large quantities has been 
taken, give vinegar or lemon juice. Follow this by olive oil, cream, 
uilk or flaxseed tea. 

If the poison swallowed was laudanum, paregoric, or any other 
article containing some preparation of opium, the mustard emetic is 



ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 579 

the first thing. Tickling the upper part of the throat with a feather 
will usually induce vomiting, if the emetic is not at once effective. Do 
not forget the copious drinking of warm water; and above all, keep 
the patient awake. Dash cold water over his head, throw open the 
windows, walk him about, or plunge him in a hot and then in a cold 
bath; rouse him by shaking, slapping, shouting to him— indeed by 
every means in your power ; for if he once yields to the power of the 
drug enough to go to sleep, it is likely to prove the sleep that knows 
no waking. 

For a poisoning with lead, give first the mustard emetic, then let 
him drink vinegar and water, sweetened with sugar or with honey. 

The following emetic is also good, if it can be procured quickly 
from a druggist: 

Sulphate of zinc, one scruple; 

Simple syrup, one dram; 

Distilled water, seven drams. 
This makes one dose, which generally proves sufficient. The stomach 
pump is useful but not always at hand ; and even when it is, the emetic 
will assist. 

CHILL FROM DAMPNESS. 

When one has been caught in a drenching rain, or is wet from hav- 
ing fallen partly or entirely into the water, there is little danger of a 
chill while exercising; but the exercise should be kept up vigorously 
until the clothing can be changed. When changing it, rub the whole 
surface of the body thoroughly with a rough, dry towel until a warm 
glow results. When the chill has been unavoidable, follow the rubbing 
by going to bed with hot-water bottles placed to the feet and body, 
drink hot water or hot teas every quarter of an hour, and bring out a 
thorough perspiration, which should be kept up for hours. This pre- 
caution will ward off many a prolonged illness. 

FREEZING. 

In cases of severe freezing, when a person is apparently frozen to 
death, great caution is needed. Keep the body in a cold place, handle 



580 ACCIDENTS AND EMEEGENCIES. 

it carefully, and rub it with cold water or snow for fifteen or twenty 
minutes. When the surface is red, wipe it perfectly dry and rub it 
with bare warm hands. The person should then be wrapped in a 
blanket and breathing restored in the same way as with those appar- 
ently drowned as given in the next paragraph. It may be necessary 
to continue the treatment energetically for several hours. A little 
lukewarm water or ginger tea is recommended for the patient to 
swallow as soon as possible. 

TO RESTORE THE APPARENTLY DROWNED. 

Efforts to resuscitate should not cease for twelve hours, if not pre- 
viously successful. Life has been known to return after many hours of 
failure to respond. The following method is the most successful: 

1.— Eemove the froth and mucus from the mouth and nostrils, and 
the mud, too, if any has been drawn in. Hold the body for a few 
seconds with the head sloping downwards, so that the water may run 
out of the lungs and windpipe. 

2.— Place the patient on his back with a roll made of a coat or 
other firm support under his shoulders. Grasp the arms by the elbows 
and draw them upwards until the hands are carried above the head 
and kept in this position until one, two, three can be slowly counted. 
This movement elevates the ribs, expands the chest and creates a 
vacuum in the lungs into which the air rushes, or in other words, the 
movement produces inspiration. The elbows are then slowly carried 
downward, placed by the sides and pressed inward against the chest, 
thereby diminishing the size of the latter and producing expiration. 
These movements should be repeated about fifteen times during each 
minute. 

3.— As soon as natural breathing is fully established, discontinue 
the artificial means, and apply friction and hot applications to the 
body, leaving the head free access to the air. 

4.— As soon as the patient can swallow, give warm milk, beef tea, 
or other warm, nourishing drink; or inject it by means of a stomach 
pump. 



ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 581 

5.— Put the patient in a warm bed with hot water bottles to his 
feet, and encourage sleep. But he should be watched, and at the first 
indication of relapse, friction and stimulants and even the artificial 
respiration, must be employed. 

WHEN ONE FAiLS INTO THE WATER. 

If a person who cannot swim falls into deep water, it is still pos- 
sible in many instances for him to save his own life if he can keep his 
wits about him. Remember that one always rises to the surface at 
once after falling into deep water, and that the person must not raise 
his arms or hands above the water unless there is something to take 
hold of, for the weight thus raised will sink the head below the point 
of safety. Motions of the hands under water, however, will do no 
harm, for in quiet water, with the head thrown back a little, the face 
will float above the surface unless heavy boots and clothing drag the 
person down. The slow motion of the legs as if walking up stairs, 
keeping as nearly perpendicular as possible, will help to keep one 
afloat until aid comes. 

CHOKING. 

A child will often fill his mouth too full, and swallow food or other 
hastily, causing him to choke. Feel with the finger if the substance 
is within reach. If it is food, force it down, so as to liberate the 
breathing; if this is impossible, give one or two sudden blows with 
the fiat of the hand on the back or chest. If on the chest, first place 
the child between your knees sidewise, so that the abdomen will be 
compressed, otherwise the effect of the blow on the respiratory pro- 
cesses will be lost by a yielding of the diaphragm. If this does not 
take effect, tickle the throat with your finger, so as to induce immediate 
vomiting. 

SWALLOWING PINS, ETC. 

If a child has swallowed a pin, a bit of broken glass, or other 
sharp substance, do not give purgatives, as the action of the bowels 
would then be likely to force the sharp article into the mucous mem- 



582 ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 

brane, tearing it and causing ulceration if nothing more serious. In- 
stead, give solid, farinaceous food, such as rice, that the foreign sub- 
stance may be well enveloped in the other contents of the intestines; 
when it will usually pass without difficulty. 

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EYE OR EAR. 

Sometimes a bit of quicklime enters the eye, causing intense pain. 
Remove, by means of a camePs hair brush or a paper spill, any 
particle adhering to the eyeball or lashes, and then bathe the eye for 
a quarter of an hour with vinegar and water, using one part vinegar 
to three of water. After doing this, bathe it for another quarter of 
an hour with warm water, and finally drop into the eye two or three 
drops of pure olive oil. Make an eye-shade of three thicknesses of 
linen covered with green silk. This should be worn until the eye has 
fully recovered. Prompt and careful attention to these directions is 
of the utmost importance, for otherwise the patient may lose his eye- 
sight. 

For removing cinders, grit, etc., in fact, any ordinary substance, 
from the eye, the flaxseed treatment is best, as described in "Care of 
the Eyes/' but when the substance is burning quicklime, there is no 
time to be lost, and the above treatment is necessary. 

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EAR. 

A few drops of olive oil inserted with a teaspoon is likely to remove 
the offending substance. If it is a living insect, it has been found that 
holding a lighted candle near the ear would cause the insect to leave 
the cavity. The patient should be in the dark when this is done. 

STUNNED FROM A FALL. 

When a child falls upon his head and is stunned, he will look 
deadly pale, much as if he had fainted. Consciousness usually soon 
returns, but sometimes, if the brain has been injured, sickness follows. 

Quickly loosen his collar and tie, lay him flat upon his back, avd 
sprinkle cold water upon his face, wetting the scalr> als*» ? Ug$en the 



ACCIDENTS AND EMEBGENCIES. 583 

windows to admit plenty of fresh air. Should there be any after ill 
effects, it would be well to consult a physician. 

SUN STROKE. 

Hot and cold water to the head. Place feet in hot water, then in 
cold. Alternate for ten minutes. 

ESCAPE FROM FIRE. 

These are a few of the most important things to remember in 
escaping from a burning building: 

1.— Keep doors closed as much as possible. Smoke follows drafts, 
and fire follows smoke. 

2.— There is always eight to twelve inches of pure air close to the 
floor. In thick smoke, when it is impossible to walk erect, drop to the 
hands and knees with the face close to the floor. 

3.— A wet flannel, or wet silk handkerchief bound over the mouth, 
helps to keep smoke out, while it permits breathing. 

4.— A woolen blanket or shawl wrapped about one, will help to 
keep off flames. 

5.— If other escape from an upper story is cut off, tie the sheets 
and bed covers together, attach one end of this improvised rope to 
some heavy article of furniture, drop the other end from the window, 
and go down hand over hand. Never jump from an upper window 
unless the firemen urge it and have a net spread ready to break the 
fall. Of course children or helpless invalids must be rescued first. 

CLOTHING ON FIRE. 

Let one whose skirts have caught fire, instantly lie down on the 
floor or ground, and try to smother the flames by rolling over and 
over. The upright position should not be kept, as it lets the flames 
spread and increases danger from inhaling. A woolen rug, blanket, 
or garment should be wrapped quickly about the sufferer. If a child, 
he should be kept from running about, and enveloped quickly with 
whatever woolen is nearest, and saturated with water. 



584 ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. 

BURNS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 

Common cooking soda, as found in every kitchen, is a convenient 
remedy for burns and scalds. Moisten the injured part and then 
sprinkle with dry soda so as to cover it entirely and loosely wrap it 
with a wet linen cloth. 

The stinging pain of a superficial burn may be instantly allayed 
by painting with flexible collodion, white of egp-, or mucilage. If the 
skin is broken apply a dressing of boracic acid ointment, lard or 
vaseline. 

In burns from gunpowder, where the powder has been deeply 
imbedded in the skin, a large poultice made of common molasses and 
wheat flour, applied over the burnt surface, is the very best thing that 
can be used, as it seems to draw the powder to the surface, and keeps 
the parts so soft that the formation of a scar does not occur. It should 
be removed twice a day, and the part washed with a shaving brush and 
warm water before applying the fresh poultice. The poultice should 
be made sufficiently soft to admit of its being readily spread on a 
piece of cotton. In cases in which the skin and muscles have been 
completely filled with the burnt powder we have seen the parts heal 
perfectly without leaving the slightest mark to indicate the position 
or nature of the injury. 

To relieve a scald on the interior of the mouth from taking hot 
liquids, gargle with a solution of borax, and then hold in the mouth a 
mucilage of slippery elm, swallowing it slowly if the throat also has 
been scalded. The slippery elm may be mixed with olive oil. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

HYGIENE IN THE HOME. 

Home the Woman's Pride — "Planning to Neglect" — Keeping Work Within Strength- 
Order is a r Xime-Saver — Look After Cellars — Beware of the Drains! — Woman's Un- 
ending War Against Filth — Stoves Exhaust Oxygen as Fast as Twelve Men Do- 
Absorbents in Sleeping Rooms — Individual Beds — Preserve Your Nerve Force — 
Lengthen Your Honeymoon — Banish the Musty Odors — The Sick Room in Contagious 
Diseases — Isolation Necessary — Three Disinfectants — How to Fumigate — Non-Con- 
tagious Sickness — Watch the Water Supply — "Boil It" — Planning the Meals. 

IT IS the pride of every true woman to have a dainty, well-kept 
home, whether it be a cottage, a palace or a three-room flat. But 
the young housewife must not be discouraged by mistakes; neither 
should she, if she is wise, attempt to follow grandmother's example 
of mercilessly overtaxing her own strength that a certain quantity 
of work be gone through, thus robbing her own children of their 
heritage of vitality. This would be the worst mistake of all. 

Rather let the ambitious home-maker survey her field calmly, 
gauge her own strength, and then adopt the plan of one wise woman 
who made a list of her various household duties and deliberately 
planned to neglect a few of the least essential of them each week, but 
arranged that no two successive weeks should find the same ones 
neglected. In this way she kept her work well within her strength; 
nothing suffered long; and you may be sure that among the neglected 
matters were never found those which would affect the health of any 
member of her family. 

Dirt and disorder are the reverse of health-producers. The dirt 
is disease-breeding, while the disorder is a constant source of racked 
nerves, irritated tempers and lost time. Order is a great time-saver. 

Important to the utmost degree is cleanliness in the care of sinks, 

refrigerators, cellars, etc., the disposal of garbage and the right condi- 

585 



586 HYGIENE IN THE HOME. 

tion of drains. Many households are poisoned by bad sanitary condi- 
tions. It is a safe rule that wherever offensive odors exist, there is 
an enemy to health that should be fairly met and put to rout. If such 
an odor comes from sinks, basins or cellar, something is wrong. Send 
for the plumber, if the matter is not easily remedied without. Flush 
the drains daily with hot water containing a little ammonia, washing 
soda, chloride of lime, or potash; or pour some clear lye in them over 
night, and flush in the morning. Burn all the garbage, or else remove 
it to a remote dumping ground. Stores of fruit and vegetables should 
be examined from time to time, that any decaying may be removed. 
Refrigerators should be emptied and scalded out, at regular intervals, 
and the same treatment given the bread and cake receptacles, that no 
mould may collect. Precautions such as these are of much more im- 
portance than shining faucets, polished range, and pans scoured till 
they are like mirrors— however alluring may be the pictures drawn 
by the advertisers of scouring soaps! Let the cleanliness come first, 
and the polish afterwards. 

STOVES ARE OXYGEN-CONSUMERS. 

Ventilation and heating arrangements should be well looked after. 
Stoves are not a very desirable method of heating a room. A fire burn- 
ing in a stove uses up the oxygen in the air as fast as twelve men 
would use it in breathing; and it emits impure gases besides. The 
fireplace, or open grate, is best for heating and ventilation combined. 
These do not make the house so warm as stoves, steam heat or hot air 
furnaces, but it is better to dress a little more warmly than to suffer 
from the diseased conditions sure to arise from overheated houses 
and lack of pure air. 

SLEEPING ROOMS. 

The windows of sleeping rooms during the night, even in winter, 
should be opened at top and bottom, an inch for every occupant. Char- 
coal or unslaked lime, a small quantity, may be kept in the room to 
advantage. These substances purify the air by absorbing poisonous 



HYGIENE IN THE HOME. 587 

gases, as is more fully explained in the chapter on "A Breath of 
Air." Did you ever stop to consider that one-third of every normal 
human being 's life is spent in bed? This fact makes the wholesome 
furnishing of the sleeping room exceedingly important. Uncarpeted 
floors are by far the best. If the floor is soft wood, it may be stained 
and oiled. The wall paper and rugs should be harmonious and restful 
in tone; window shades and draperies soften the light, and there 
should be in a bedroom but few ornaments of the kind that harbor 
dust. Eather, let the necessary furnishings themselves be tasteful and 
well chosen, and the whole effect will be pleasing and restful. The 
beds should be separate in every instance unless in the guest chamber. 
That might be supplied with a double bed, to satisfy old-time preju- 
dices, but the family sleeping rooms should have a bed for each mem- 
ber. Sleeping alone is the only healthful method of resting, and there 
will be invalids as long as it is not made the rule. Let me make it clear 
why this is so. 

WASTING THE NERVE FORCES. 

Some persons are so constituted that they are continually giving 
out nervous energy; others are more likely to absorb it. In the "Laws 
of Life, ' ' a paragraph states : ' ' There is nothing that will so derange 
the nervous system of a person who is eliminative in nervous force, 
as to lie all night in bed with another person who is absorbent in 
nervous force. The absorber will go to sleep and rest all night ; while 
the eliminator will be tumbling and tossing, restless and nervous, and 
wake up in the morning, fretful, peevish, fault-finding and discouraged. 
No two persons, no matter who they are, should habitually sleep to- 
gether. One will thrive, and the other will lose. This is the law, and 
in married life it is defied almost univer sally. ' ' 

WHY THE HONEYMOON WAN£3S. 

Not only nervous, but magnetic force is thus given out and ab- 
sorbed. Dr. E. B. Foote, Sr., says: "Married people make a great 
mistake in allowing themselves to sleep together. This practice, in 
a measure, leads to uncongeniality. From five to eight hours bodily 



588 HYGIENE IN THE HOME. 

contact in every twenty-four, with one person, not only causes an 
equalization of those magnetic elements which, when diverse in quan- 
tity and quality, produce physical attraction and passional love, but it 
promotes uncongeniality by making the pair grow physically alike.' ' 
And in my chapter on "Limitation of Offspring," still further rea- 
sons are shown why single beds should be given the preference. 

Mattresses should be of husks and cotton, hair and cotton, or hair 
and wool. Feathers are not advisable. The mattress should be 
brushed and aired regularly; bed coverings should be light, and 
always such as can be easily laundered. Sheets, blankets and light- 
weight comfortables covered with cheesecloth supply a bed satisfac- 
torily. Air the beds at least an hour, preferably two, before making 
them up. Both windows and beds should be thrown wide open, and 
shades raised as high as they will go, during the airing, that the sun's 
rays may have free course, for they help to destroy disease germs. 

KEEP VESSELS COVERED. 

No custom is more common than that of allowing a vessel contain- 
ing urine to stand uncovered in the sleeping-room all night. This 
should never be done. The poisonous gases arising from urine always 
vitiate the air, and saturate the bedding or whatever is near, with 
impurities. Keep the vessel covered. To prevent any unpleasant 
rattling of crockery, it is a good idea to slip over the lid one of the 
easily made, easily washed open crocheted covers, which will effec- 
tually stifle the sound. Any little girl who can crochet a plain line of 
stitches, can make these. They are made of coarse crochet or darning 
cotton, a straight chain of a length so that with the ends joined, it 
forms a cord ring a little smaller than the part of the lid that touches 
the rim of the vessel; then successive rows of open scallops made by 
chains of six or eight stitches each, hooked into the foundation chain 
first and continued several times around; the last row drawn up with 
a crocheted cord and tied around the knob or handle. They are a 
great convenience, to save the rattling. 



HYGIENE IN THE HOME. 589 

Bugs and draperies should be taken outdoors and thoroughly 
shaken and aired, twice a month, even in the rooms not much used. 
This, together with making the sunlight a welcome visitor, helps to 
keep the air of the rooms free from the musty odor often observable 
in rooms left shut up for weeks at a time. 

DANGER IN DAMP SHEETS. 

Among the dangers which beset travelers in strange hotels and 
elsewhere is the really great peril of sleeping in damp sheets. It is 
hard enough to secure the proper airing of linen and clothes at home. 
Unless each article is unfolded and its position changed until all the 
moisture has been driven out of it, it is really not fully dried. As a 
matter of fact heavy articles, such as sheets, are scarcely ever thor- 
oughly dry, and when delicate persons, perhaps fatigued by a journey, 
seek rest in a bed made of them, they risk rheumatism and other mis- 
chief. In case of doubt it is better to remove the sheets from the bed 
and sleep in the blankets until assured that the linen is thoroughly dry. 

THE SICK ROOM IN CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 

In spite of the additional labor that it makes, the ideal place for 

a sick room in a private house is as far from the ground as possible. 

To be of any service at all, isolation must be real and complete. A 

room should be selected in the topmost story, the door kept closed, a 

fire, large or small, according to the weather, kept burning, and the 

windows open as much as possible. Even in the winter this can be 

done without danger under most circumstances by lowering the upper 

sash and breaking the draft by a blind or screen. The staircase and 

hall windows should be kept open day and night. The other inmates 

of the house should keep their own rooms thoroughly ventilated. The 

persons nursing the patient should on no account mix with other 

members of the family, or, if that cannot be helped, they should take 

off their dresses in the sick room, and after washing their hands and 

faces, put on other dresses kept hanging outside the room, or in an 

adjoining apartment. 
34 v. 



590 HYGIENE IN THE HOME. 

All dishes used in the room should be washed separately, and not 
with others in the kitchen. The room itself, except in cases of measles 
and whooping cough, the poison of which does not retain its vitality 
for any length of time, should be as scantily furnished as possible, 
containing nothing which can retain infection. All woolen carpets, 
curtains and bedhangings should be removed, and only wooden or 
cane-bottomed chairs retained. There should be no sofa, and iron 
bedsteads are better than wood. A straw mattress of little value, 
which may be destroyed afterward, is better than a hair one, which 
can be disinfected, but feather beds and such furnishings should be 
absolutely forbidden. 

DISINFECTANTS. 

Three different preparations are to be commended for use to make 
the purifying of a house, where infection has been, complete. The first 
is ordinary roll sulphur or brimstone, for fumigation; the second is a 
copperas solution, made by dissolving sulphate of iron (copperas) 
in water in the proportion of one and one-half pints to one gallon, 
for soil, sewers, etc. ; the third is a zinc solution, made by dissolving 
sulphate of zinc and common salt together in water in the proportion 
of four ounces of the sulphate and two ounces of the salt to one gallon, 
for the clothing, bed-linen, etc. 

In the sick-room, the most valuable agents are fresh air and clean- 
liness. The clothing, towels, bed linens, etc., should, on removal from 
the patient, and before they are taken from the room, be placed in a 
pail or tub of the zinc solution, boiling hot if possible. All discharges 
should either be received in vessels containing the copperas solution, 
or, when this is impracticable, should be immediately covered with the 
solution. All vessels used about the patient should be cleansed or 
rinsed with the same. Unnecessary furniture— especially that which 
is stuffed— carpets and hangings, should, when possible, be removed 
from the room at the outset; otherwise they should remain for subse- 
quent fumigation, as next explained. 



HYGIENE IN THE HOME. 591 

FUMIGATION. 

Fumigation with sulphur is the method used for disinfecting the 
house. For this reason the rooms to be disinfected should be vacated. 
Heavy clothing, blankets, bedding and other articles which cannot be 
treated with the zinc solution, should be opened and exposed during 
fumigation, as next directed. Close the rooms tightly as possible, 
place the sulphur in iron pans supported on bricks placed in wash 
tubs containing a little water; set the sulphur on fire with hot coals 
or with the aid of a spoonful of alcohol, and allow the room to remain 
closed twenty-four hours. For a room about ten feet square at least 
two pounds of sulphur should be used ; for larger rooms proportionally 
increased quantities. 

Cellars, stables, yards, gutters, privies, cesspools, water closets, 
drains, sewers, etc., should be frequently and liberally treated with 
the copperas solution. The copperas solution is easily prepared by 
hanging a basket containing about sixty pounds of copperas in a barrel 
of water. (This would be about one and one-half pounds to the gallon. 
It should all be dissolved before use.) 

THE SICK-ROOM IN NON-CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 

When there is sickness that is not contagious, the care of the 
patient's room is still important. A sunny exposure, an open fire, and 
in summer an open fireplace, are the greatest aids. Under all circum- 
stances, keep the air pure in the sick-room. Cut flowers should not be 
allowed to remain any length of time; as soon as their first freshness 
is gone, remove them. The presence of carbon in the room, due to 
the wick of a lamp being turned too low, or to any cause whatever, 
is to be avoided as a deadly poison. It is well to use the "door-fan" 
occasionally, as directed in the chapter on "A Breath of Air." 

Place the bed where all danger from drafts may be avoided, and 
always protect the patient's eyes from the direct rays of sun, or lamp, 
or other light. It is of the utmost importance that all bed-linen and 
clothing should be changed very frequently; it should be washed and 



592 HYGIENE IN THE HOME. 

sunned thoroughly, previous to using. Sweep the floor with a damp 
broom, to prevent dust rising, or remove dust with a damp cloth. 

GUARD YOUR WATER SUPPLY. 

Pure water is essential. If any doubt exists, boil it— the water, 
not the doubt!— as the boiling process eliminates all impurities, if con- 
tinued long enough. If it be urged that boiling makes the water ' ' flat ' ' 
and insipid, there are many refreshing drinks that can be made, as 
described in the chapter on " Dishes for Invalids." 

Water that has stood long is unfit to drink, as it absorbs the im- 
purities of the atmosphere. That which remains in the pipes all night 
should be allowed to run off quite largely, before any is used. The 
less ice-water drank, the better, as it checks the natural flow of the 
gastric juice and is apt to cause irritation of the bowels; sometimes 
even fatal inflammations. 

The nature of the water supply should be one of the first things 
considered in choosing a location for a home. When a good and whole- 
some water cannot be obtained from springs or rivers, as in malarial 
districts, and when there is reasonable ground for thinking that the 
ordinary sources are contaminated by epidemics, it is well to fall back 
on the rainfall for drinking purposes, with special care that it is col- 
lected in a cleanly manner. 

Surface wells are always to be viewed with suspicion when they 
are in the vicinity of stables and cesspools, farm yards, cemeteries, 
and anywhere in the towns. The filtration of the water through the 
soil removes the suspended matters, so that it may be clear enough to 
the eye, but it has no power to remove impurities actually dissolved. 
The eye cannot be trusted to judge t^e impurities of drinking water. 
Water which appears absolutely clear may be unwholesome in the 
extreme, and water with sediment floating in it may be in no way 
unwholesome. Nothing but an analysis of the water can settle this 
with absolute certainty. Deep wells and artesian wells which pene- 
trate the surface strata are likely to be safe. Marsh waters carry 



HYGIENE IN THE HOME. 593 

malaria, and should never be drunk without boiling. Indeed, sus- 
picious water of all sorts may be made safe by boiling, although it is 
not sufficient always to merely bring it to a boil. Thirty minutes above 
the boiling point is a safe rule to follow. 

Best of all is distilled water. That can be relied on as absolutely 
pure. Typhoid, diphtheria, dysentery, cholera, diarrhea, and other 
dangerous diseases are caused by impure water, either by suspended 
mineral matters acting as irritants, by suspended animal and vegetable 
matters, or by dissolved animal impurities. Sewer gases dissolved in 
water, in addition to these diseases, cause sore throats, boils and other 
ailments. 

It must not be forgotten that water closets, stable yards, manure 
piles, decaying kitchen slops and all sorts of filth are responsible for 
many of the most serious diseases, either by draining into the well, 
and so contaminating the water supply, or by direct breeding of dis- 
ease-germs carried as dust and inhaled. Health is one of the rewards 
for household cleanliness of the most careful kind. 

FOOD PREPARATION. 

The nutritive value of different foods, and the preparation of them, 
are among the most necessary things for the housewife to understand. 
The health and temper of the whole family depend largely upon the 
cooking. Unwholesome or ill-cooked food causes dyspepsia or indi- 
gestion, which expresses itself in irritability long before the stage of 
recognized illness is reached. In our temperate climate, very little 
meat should be served in the summer, as it is heating to the blood. 
The hints given in the "Beauty Diet" chapters, including the advan- 
tages of much fruit and little meat, will serve as a guide, very largely, 
in planning the family meals. 

When meats are used, which should be mainly in the winter, the 
best are beef, veal, mutton, lamb and poultry, eaten in moderation. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

DISHES FOE INVALIDS. 

Oare Necessary — Milk — Fruits — Gruels — Porridge — Jellies — Custards and Creams — Blanc 
Mange — Meats, Soups and Broths — Eggs — Oysters — Soups Without Meat — Panadas — 
Mushes — Rice — Entire Wheat Bread — Grains — Zweiback — Toasts — Beverages — Tonics 
— Fruit Combinations. 

DURING recovery from sickness, of whatever kind, the diet is 
important. It should be light, yet nourishing; should be made 
attractive and appetizing; but when, after eating any article of food, 
ill effects are felt in the form of headache, pains in the stomach or 
bowels, nausea, flatulence, or an abnormally quickened pulse, it is an 
indication that such article is injurious. 

MILK. 

Almost invariably easy of digestion, and useful in many ways, this 
article of diet may be given at all times during sickness and con- 
valescence, as well as in health. (See "Beauty Diet.") Warm milk 
is particularly good. For patients suffering from diarrhoea, dysentery, 
etc., it should be boiled; and nursing mothers who have insufficient 
milk in the breasts will be greatly benefited by drinking at least a pint 
of new milk one or two hours before breakfast. Add one-tenth water, 
and heat to a temperature of 110 or 120 degrees. The warm water 
prevents the formation of curds, and the milk at that temperature, 
uncurdled, will be taken up by the absorbents of the system and con- 
veyed directly to the blood without going through the usual digestive 
process. Commenting on the effectiveness of this plan, Dr. R. P. 
Harris says: 

"Those who with ordinary food invariably fail to nurse longer 
than a few weeks, are capable by this diet of becoming not only good 
nurses, but also of gaining flesh while secreting the milk in abundance. 

594 



DISHES FOK INVALIDS. 595 

When a delicate mother of 86 pounds weight, who had failed after a 
month with each of three infants, is enabled by it to nurse a child 
eighteen months and gain at the same time nineteen pounds, the diet 
must be an effective one. ' ' 

When the flow of milk is excessive, avoid salt and liquid foods. 

Boiled rice is another food easily digested. Beef tea, mutton broth 
and chicken are useful in convalescence, though less nourishing in pro- 
portion to their digestibility than is the warm milk. 

FRUITS. 

These are sometimes of great benefit, but should not be given to 

« 

patients indiscriminately. The juice of ripe oranges is good in fever, 
but the pulp should be discarded. Grapes, minus their seeds and skin ; 
lemon juice, and the juice pressed out of strawberries and strained, 
are all refreshing and permissible in fevers. For convenience, I here 
give a classified list of some of the foods most useful and desirable in 
sickness and during recovery, while the patient is still weak: 

GRUELS. 

The way to make a palatable gruel is to mix smooth two large 
tablespoonfuls of cornmeal or oatmeal in enough cold water to make a 
thin paste; pour a quart of hot water into a clean granite saucepan 
over a brisk fire; when it boils add a small lump of butter and when 
the butter is melted, stir in the paste of meal; stir for about half an 
hour; then add a teacupful of sweet milk, and when it boils again, 
throw in the upper crust of a loaf of hard baked bread cut into small 
pieces ; let it boil still longer and add a little black pepper, a little salt, 
a pinch of grated nutmeg and a little more butter. The butter and 
spices, however, should be omitted when the illness is serious. 

BARLEY GRUEL. 

Take one ounce of pearl barley, boil it a few moments to cleanse it; 
pour off the water, add a quart of cold water, a half teaspoonful of 
salt; let simmer slowly till reduced to half the quantity, and strain. 
Excellent in fevers and gastric inflammation. 



596 DISHES FOR INVALIDS. 

RICE GRUEL. 

Two tablespoonfuls rice, one quart cold water; steep slowly one 
hour; strain and add a little salt and cream. 

BRAN GRUEL. 

One pint bran of white wheat, three pints water ; boil half an hour ; 
strain and add a little salt. Good gruel for fevers and inflammations. 

CORNMEAL GRUEL No. 2. 

This is a simpler method than the one first given. One tablespoon- 
f ul finely sifted cornmeal mixed in cold water to a thin paste ; have one 
quart boiling water over the fire ; dip a spoonful of the paste into the 
hot water, stir, let it boil up, then add another spoonful and so on 
until of the right consistence. Boil briskly for half an hour. Salt to 
taste. Cornmeal is too heating to be advisable where there is fever. 

Graham Gruel is made in the same way as the cornmeal, given 
above. It can be strained or not, as preferred. 

OATMEAL GRUEL No. 2. 

Two tablespoonfuls coarse oatmeal stirred directly into one quart 
boiling water. Boil one hour; strain; serve with milk or cream. 

ARROWROOT GRUEL. 

One tablespoonful arrowroot mixed to a paste in cold water; stir 
this into half a pint of boiling water ; when smooth, add half a pint of 
milk, boil all together for three minutes ; salt or sweeten to taste. 

FARINA GRUEL. 

One tablespoonful farina, one teaspoonful salt, one cup boiling 
water, cooked all together for fifteen minutes or until it thickens ; then 
add one cup milk and boil again. Farina is one of the many whole- 
some preparations of wheat. 

CORNMEAL GRUEL No. 3. 

Two tablespoonfuls cornmeal, one teaspoonful flour, one teaspoon- 
ful salt, one quart boiling water. Mix the flour, meal and salt into a 



DISHES FOE INVALIDS. 597 

thin paste with cold water ; stir the paste into the boiling water ; boil 
half an hour, stirring frequently. Thin with milk or cream. 

CRACKER GRUEL. 

Four tablespoonfuls powdered Uneeda Biscuit or other good 
cracker; one cupful boiling water, one cup milk, and a little salt. Boil 
up once and serve fresh. 

EGG GRUEL. 

The yolk of one egg well beaten, one teaspoonful sugar, one cup 
hot milk, the white of the egg beaten to a foam. Flavor with lemon or 
nutmeg. Good for a cold, if taken very hot before retiring. 

MILK PORRIDGE. 

One tablespoonful flour, two cups milk, two dozen raisins quartered 
and seeded. Boil raisins in water twenty minutes. Allow the water 
to boil away; then add the milk. When it boils, add the flour rubbed 
to a thin paste with a little cold milk. Boil ten minutes and season 
with a little salt. The beaten white of one egg, added after the por- 
ridge comes from the fire, improves it. 

JELLIES. 

When not too sweet, jellies are usually a welcome part of the 
invalid's meal. Those made from, or flavored with the acid fruits, are 
usually relished best. 

LEMON JELLY. 

Two lemons, two tablespoonfuls cornstarch, one pint boiling water, 
one-third cup sugar. Wet the cornstarch to a paste in cold water; 
stir this into the boiling water; add the sugar, the juice of the lemons, 
and a little of the lemon-peel grated in. Pour into moulds to cool. 

LEMON JELLY No. 2. 

One ounce gelatine, one quart water, three lemons, one cup sugar. 
Soak the gelatine in the water ; when dissolved, pour into a saucepan 
and let come to a boil. Add the juice of the lemons, a little grated 
peel, and the sugar. Strain through cheesecloth, pour into moulds and 
cool on ice. 



598 DISHES FOE INVALIDS. 



SAGO JELLY. 



Five tablespoonfuls sago, half a pint cold water, one cup sugar, 
two tablespoonfuls lemon juice. Soak the sago in the cold water half 
an hour, then add the sugar and lemon juice. Pour into this three 
cups boiling water; boil the whole in a farina boiler one hour; pour 
into moulds. When cold turn out and serve with fruit juice. 

RICE JELLY. 

Two tablespoonfuls rice ; cook in water one hour, or until dissolved. 
Salt, sugar, and lemon juice to taste ; strain into a mould. Serve cold, 
with sugar and cream. Good in diarrhoea and dysentery. 

3STUTRINA, OR BRAN JELLY. 

Dr. M. Augusta Fairchild gives this recipe, which makes an excel- 
lent dish for nursing mothers, for children when first weaned, and for 
all invalids requiring a nerve nutritive: 

"1st. Go to the mill yourself and watch the miller while he gives 
you clean wheat bran. 

"2d. Have a kettle of boiling soft water on the stove. Sift with 
one hand, stirring briskly all the while with a wooden spoon or paddle, 
held in the other, until the mass is about the consistency of a thick 
gruel. Let this boil slowly about two hours. Place a sieve over the 
top of a pan and pour this gruel into it to drain. When well drained 
place the pan on the stove and allow it to come to a boil. Mix with 
cold water a spoonful or so of sifted graham flour, enough to bring the 
boiling gruel to about the consistency of a smooth gravy or thick 
gruel. 

"Dip into moulds— coif ee cups are nice for this— and allow to 
become cold, when, if right, it will be a trembling, delicate jelly. Per- 
haps it will be necessary to experiment a little, as the first trial may 
not be entirely successful, but depend upon it, the outcome is well worth 
painstaking. 

"Nutrina accompanied with various sauces makes a welcome des- 



DISHES FOR INVALIDS. 599 

sert. People who use milk or cream would like nutrina with a cream 
sauce. Nutrina cannot be too highly recommended, for it suits so wide 
a range of conditions." 

TAPIOCA RASPBERRY JELLY. 

One-fourth cup pearl tapioca, one pint cold water, one-half cup 
raspberry jam, one heaping tablespoonful sugar, salt to taste. Pick 
over and wash the tapioca, add the cold water, and cook in a double 
boiler until entirely dissolved. Then add the salt, jam, and sugar. 
Turn into a mould; and when cold, serve with sugar or cream. 

SAGO CRANBERRY JELLY. 

Soak five tablespoonfuls sago in cold water one hour ; strain off the 
water; add a half pint strained cranberry juice; boil slowly fifteen 
minutes, stirring occasionally; then add a half cup of sugar. Pour 
into moulds ; serve the following day without sauce. 

IRISH MOSS JELLY. 

One-half cup Irish moss, one lemon, one-third cup sugar. Soak the 
moss in cold water until soft, pick over and wash again, then put into 
the boiling water and simmer until dissolved. Add the lemon juice 
and sugar and strain into a mould. Especially good in rheumatic 
diseases. 

FIG JELLY. 

Make the Irish Moss Jelly as above described, but steep four or 
five figs with the moss ; omitting the lemon, or not, as preferred. 

JELLY AND ICE. 

Chip a half cup of ice fine. Mix with it currant, barberry, black- 
berry, cherry or lemon jelly. Excellent in fevers. 

CUSTARDS, CREAMS, ETC. 

Some of the delicate dishes made with milk and eggs are digestible 
by weak stomachs ; others are not. When properly made, the dainty 
custards, creams, blanc manges, etc., are both nourishing and tempting. 
Ice cream, eaten slowly in small quantities, is excellent. 



600 DISHES FOR INVALIDS. 

The well-known plain boiled cornstarch custard is good ; also baked 
custard; and baked milk alone prepared according to Mrs. Owen's 
directions : 

BAKED MILK. 

Put half a gallon of milk in a jar and tie over it writing paper. 
Let it stand in a moderate oven eight or ten hours. It will be like 
cream, and is good for consumptives and invalids generally. 

SNOW BALLS. 

Two cups rice, two quarts boiling water, one pint boiling milk; 
cook two hours in double boiler without stirring. Pour into small 
moulds, and serve with boiled custard. 

BUTTERMILK POP. 

One quart buttermilk, two tablespoonfuls flour, one teaspoonful 
cold milk. Heat the buttermilk in the double boiler ; when nearly boil- 
ing, thicken with the flour, which has first been wet to a paste with the 
cold milk. Stir until boiling. Excellent for nervous dyspepsia, and 
of great value in heartburn and nausea during pregnancy. 

FRUIT BLANC MANGE. 

Four tablespoonfuls cornstarch wet in cold water; one quart fruit 
juice (blackberries, grapes, cherries or strawberries, etc.) ; one cup 
water; two tablespoonfuls sugar. Put the fruit juice and water on to 
boil ; when boiling add the sugar and cornstarch ; let boil five minutes ; 
then pour into moulds. Serve with cream or boiled custard. If lemons 
be the fruit chosen, use more water. This dish is especially valuable 
in pregnancy and for convalescents where the stomach will not bear 
solid food. 

MEATS, SOUPS AND BROTHS. 

When used at all for the sick, meats must have eveiy particle of 
fat, skin and membrane removed. Beef, mutton and chicken are the 
meats best adapted, and here are a few of the best recipes : 

BROILED BEEF PULP. 

Scrape raw beef to a pulp, maKe into small cakes and broil as steak. 
Season with salt and a little cayenne pepper. Serve hot. 



DISHES FOR INVALIDS. 601 

MUTTON BROTH. 

A quick method is to chop one pound of lean juicy mutton very fine ; 
pour over it one pint of cold water ; let it stand until the water is red ; 
then heat slowly, and let simmer ten minutes, strain, season, and either 
add two tablespoonfuls of soft boiled rice, or thicken a little with rice 
flour wet with cold water. Serve warm. 

BEEF TEA. 

Cut one pound of lean beef into fine pieces; put it into a bottle 
without a drop of water; cork tightly and set the bottle in a kettle of 
cold water. Heat gradually, to a boil, and let boil steadily for three 
or four hours, until the meat is like rags, its juice all extracted. Pour 
out, salt to taste, and give a teaspoonful at a time. 

Beef tea, it is now known, is more of a stimulant than a food, and 
is much less valuable from a nutritive standpoint than was once sup- 
posed. It should not be given in fevers or inflammations. In such 
cases bran or oatmeal gruel is far better. 

BARLEY SOUP. 

One tablespoonful barley, one pound of neck of mutton, one pint of 
cold water. Wash the barley well. Eemove the fat and bones from 
the mutton, cut it into slices, add the barley and the water, and hea't 
slowly. Let simmer two hours. Put the bones into a cup of cold 
water, boil slowly half an hour, and strain into the meat and barley. 
Season with salt; skim off the fat and serve with whole wheat or 
graham wafers. 

CHICKEN BROTH, No. 1. 

Clean and disjoint a small chicken; cut the meat into half inch 
pieces. Kemove all fat; break or pound the bones. Dip the feet in 
boiling water and scald till the skin and nails peel off. The feet con- 
tain gelatine, and well cleaned may be used for jelly. Cover the meat, 
feet and bones with cold water, heat very slowly, and simmer till the 
meat is tender. Strain, and when cool, remove the fat. Season with 



- 



602 DISHES FOR INVALIDS. 

salt, pepper and lemon to taste, and add the white of one egg. Place 
over the fire, stir well, and boil five minutes. Skim, and strain through 
a fine napkin. Serve warm; or if intended for jelly, pour into small 
moulds to cool. 

CHICKEN BEOTH, No. 2. 

Select the dark meat only, from half a chicken ; boil it in one quart 
of water with a tablespoonful of rice or barley; skim off the fat and 
serve as soon as the rice is well done. A little lightly browned toast 
is nice served with the broth. 

poached eggs. 

If cooked for ten minutes at a temperature of 165 degrees, eggs 
will be much more digestible and delicious than by boiling. An egg 
either in its shell or out of it, should never be boiled. To poach them, 
place muffin rings in a skillet of salted boiling water; break the eggs 
in these and let them stand ten minutes without boiling. Remove the 
rings and the eggs will be nicely molded and evenly cooked. 

EGGS POACHED IN MILK FOR NERVOUS HEADACHE. 

For six eggs, take one cup milk, one-half cup water; heat to boiling 
point, then break in the eggs. Cook slowly and serve on toast. A 
case is recorded of a lady curing herself completely of nervous head- 
aches by eating an egg every morning cooked in this way. 

OYSTERS, RAW AND BROILED. 

Eaten raw, oysters are more digestible than when cooked. This is 
because a fat oyster is half liver ; the diastase in the liver causes the 
oyster, when taken raw, to digest easily, but this diastase is destroyed 
in cooking. Raw oysters are therefore valuable in nervous dyspepsia 
and in the early months of pregnancy. 

Convalescents will often find the following dish agreeable: Select 
large oysters, hold over hot coals on a wire toaster until heated 
through ; serve on toast moistened with cream. Oysters will sometimes 
prove useful by increasing the flow of milk in nursing mothers. 



DISHES FOR INVALIDS. 603 



SOUPS WITHOUT MEAT. 



Delicious and nourishing soups may be made without meat. Here 
are a few: 

TOMATO SOUP. 

Place one pint of tomatoes and one quart of water in a granite 
kettle. Let it come to a boil ; thicken with three table spoonfuls graham 
flour wet to a paste with cold water. Add one quart milk, and stir 
until it boils. This prevents curdling. Season to taste. 

MACARONI SOUP. 

Break a handful of macaroni into inch pieces. Place this in a 
quart of boiling water, then add two cups of strained stewed tomato, 
and just before serving pour in one-half cup cream. 

PEA SOUP. 

One pint stewed or canned green peas; one quart milk; flour or 
cornstarch enough to thicken, and seasoning to taste. While the milk 
is coming to a boil, rub the peas through a colander ; stir them into the 
hot milk, and when it reaches the boiling point, thicken with flour or 
cornstarch wet to a paste with cold milk. Add the salt, butter and 
pepper and set back. This soup is good if made with part water 
instead of all milk. 

SPLIT PEA SOUP. 

Soak one cup of split peas over night. Put on in cold water, and 
boil slowly for two hours. Rub through the colander. Stir two table- 
spoonfuls graham flour into a cup of sweet cream, with a pinch of 
salt ; heat this by itself in the kettle, and when it thickens, return the 
peas to the kettle and stir all together. Then set back. 

CHICKEN PANADA. 

Pound to a paste one cup of cold roasted or boiled chicken. Add 
one-half cup of stale bread crumbs, and enough boiling chicken liquor 
to make a quart. Serve hot a cup at a time. 



604 DISHES FOR INVALIDS. 



EGG AND RAISIN PANADA. 



Two eggs, one cup bread crumbs or two slices toasted bread, one 
table spoonful of sugar, one cup of stoned raisins, one quart water. 
Boil the raisins one hour, skim them out, add the bread to the boiling 
water; boil fifteen minutes, stirring well. Beat the eggs, adding the 
sugar; pour the panada over them, stirring constantly. 

CRACKER PANADA. 

One tablespoonful cracker crumbs boiled five minutes in one cup 
water slightly sweetened, and flavored with lemon or strawberry. 

GRAHAM CRACKER PANADA. 

This requires no actual cooking. Split two fresh graham crackers ; 
put them into a bowl, sprinkle with a little sugar and cover with boil- 
ing water. Slip them out and serve with a little cream. 

MUSHES. 

These semi-solid foods are useful and may be made palatable when 
correctly cooked. 

GRAHAM MUSH. 

Wet one-half cup graham flour with enough cold water to make a 
thin, smooth paste. Add one-half teaspoonful salt. Stir into one pint 
of boiling water and cook twenty minutes, stirring frequently. Serve 
with cream. 

RYE MUSH. 

Make like the above, using rye flour, and serve with sugar and 
cream. 

OATMEAL MUSH. 

One cup granulated oatmeal, a pinch of salt, one scant quart boiling 
water. Put meal and salt into a double boiler, pour over them boiling 
water, and cook two or three hours. Remove the cover just before 
serving and stir slightly with a fork, allowing steam to escape. Serve 
with sugar and cream. Baked apples, apple sauce, and apple jelly are 



DISHES FOE INVALIDS. 605 

delicious eaten with the oatmeal. They should be eaten with the mush, 
the cream being poured over both mush and fruit. 

WHEAT MUSH. 

Use the rolled or cracked wheat, or if this is not easily procured, 
crack the wheat in an ordinary coffee mill. Stir one pint of the wheat 
into two quarts of boiling water in a double boiler. Add a half tea- 
spoonful salt, and cook three hours without further stirring. Serve 
hot or cold, with cream and sugar or fruit juice. If to be eaten cold, 
it should be poured into moulds. This is one of the best foods in con- 
stipation or biliousness. 

CORNMEAL MUSH. 

Mix one cup of fine cornmeal with one cup of cold water, adding a 
little salt. Stir gradually into boiling water. Cook three-quarters of 
an hour in a double boiler, stirring frequently. 

BRAIN FOOD. 

One cup entire wheat flour, one quart boiling water, salt to taste. 
Wet the flour in a little cold water, and stir it into the salted boiling 
water. Cook over brisk fire one hour and a half. Serve hot or cold, 
with sugar and cream. 

BOILED RICE. 

This is one of the most valuable foods in sickness, as it is easily 
digested and assimilated. It is especially useful in diarrhoea or 
dysentery. Two cups of rice to three pints of water, with a half table- 
spoonful of salt ; cook slowly, tightly covered in a double boiler, three 
to four hours. Do not stir it until nearly done ; then remove cover to 
let steam escape, and stir lightly with a fork. 

BROWNED RICE. 

Brown or parch rice slowly in the oven, then steep it in milk for 

two hours. The rice alone or the milk alone is excellent in summer 

complaint. 
35 V. 



I 



606 DISHES FOE INVALIDS. 

BREADS FOR INVALIDS. 

Those made from graham or entire wheat flour are best, and they 
should usually be served in the form of toast, granula or zweiback. 

ENTIRE WHEAT BREAD. 

To three pints of water add a small cake of yeast and a teaspoonful 
of salt. Mix with this a sufficient quantity of entire wheat flour to 
make a soft dough, and mold into baking pans. Let it rise about half 
as much as is usual with other breads before baking. Allowing bread 
to rise but once increases its nutrition. As the flour is very coarse, 
making the dough soft allows for swelling. Bake in a hot oven the 
same as other bread ? with the exception that it should be baked a 
trifle longer. 

GRANULA. 

Mix equal parts of graham flour, cornmeal, and fine oatmeal, with 
cold water, making a batter thick enough to cling to the spoon. Bake 
in thin cakes in a quick oven. When baked, break into small pieces and 
dry in a slow oven, until crisp. Then roll into fine crumbs. Served 
in milk, this is delicious and nourishing. It may be prepared from 
cold gems or corn bread by re-baking and crumbling as described. 

ZWEIBACK. 

Cut slices of bread into thin strips and dry in the oven. Serve with 
soups. 

GRAHAM AND OATMEAL GEMS. 

Equal parts graham flour and fine oatmeal; add equal parts milk 
and water sufficient to make a thick batter. Have the gem pans very 
hot, fill with the above mixture, and bake in a quick oven. 

CREAM TOAST. 

Heat three slices of bread in the oven; toast an even brown over 
coals. Boil a half pint of milk and three tablespoonfuls of cream; 
thicken with cornstarch, salt to taste and pour over the toast. Serve 
hot. 



DISHES FOR INVALIDS. 607 

TOMATO TOAST. 

One quart stewed tomatoes; season with one tablespoonful sugai 
and one-half teaspoonful of salt; pour over graham bread or gems 
toasted. 

RHUBARB TOAST. 

Two pounds rhubarb (pieplant), one pint water, one-half cup sugar. 
Cut the rhubarb into small pieces and stew until done. When cold, 
pour over hot graham toast. Those who dislike rhubarb will be sur- 
prised to find how different it tastes prepared in this way. 

OYSTER TOAST. 

Stew the oysters and pour over toasted bread or gems. 

GEM TOAST. 

Graham gems may be split, and toasted like bread; then served 
with the same dressing as ordinary toast. They make, in fact, a better 
toast than bread. 

BEVERAGES. 

These for invalids are quite as important as foods. Many times 
they must serve as both food and drink. Alcoholic drinks do not 
benefit the patient as much as they harm. I cannot emphasize this too 
strongly. They give no nourishment, and the brief stimulating effect 
is followed by a reaction. In no case will wine or other alcoholic stimu- 
lants revive a patient as effectually as would a glass of hot milk. 

ORANGE WHEY. 

An excellent drink after confinement is made as follows : Add the 
juice of one orange to a pint of sweet milk. Heat slowly until the curds 
begin to form. Strain, and cool. 

BUTTERMILK. 

In diabetes, it has been found of great advantage to make butter- 
milk a chief article of diet; and in dyspepsia it will often be relished 
and retained when the stomach refuses almost everything else. Corpu- 
lent people will find it of benefit, and in serious cases of fever when 



608 DISHES FOE INVALIDS. 

nourishment becomes a problem, it is sometimes the best food that can 
be given. It should be either served fresh from the churn, or put in 
clean bottles and canned or sealed as in preserving fruit. The taste for 
it can be cultivated. 

OATMEAL TEA. 

Two tablespoonfuis raw oatmeal to a quart of cold water ; let stand 
two hours in a cool place, then drain off as wanted. Nourishing in 
convalescence, and unequalled as refreshment for harvesters, etc. 

EGG LEMONADE. 

Beat together the juice of one lemon, the white of one egg, one 
tablespoonful of pulverized sugar, one glass water. Excellent in in- 
flammation of the lungs, stomach, or bowels. 

FLAXSEED LEMONADE. 

Two tablespoonfuis whole flaxseed to a pint of boiling water; let 
it stand until cool, then strain and add the juice of two lemons and two 
tablespoonfuis honey. For coughs and suppression of urine, this is 
invaluable. 

APPLE AND FIG JUICE. 

Six figs, two apples, two quarts of boiling water. Cut the apples 
and figs into small pieces; pour over them the boiling water, and boil 
all together twenty minutes. Cool and strain when wanted. The figs 
and apples may be eaten with a little boiled rice. 

EGG TONIC No. 1. 

Beat one egg very light; add the juice of one lemon and a very 
little sugar. To be taken before breakfast while the egg is still light. 
Better than any alcoholic stimulant known. 

EGG TONIC No. 2. 

Same as No. 1, except that a half glass of new milk is substituted 
for the lemon juice. Good for nursing mothers, delicate children ana 
all weak persons. 






DISHES FOE INVALIDS. 60© 

TAPIOCA MILK. 

Soak three tablespoonfuls tapioca in a cup of cold water for one 
hour ; add three cups boiling milk, sweeten, and flavor to taste. Simmer 
slowly a half hour ; serve warm. 

GUM WATER. 

One ounce clean gum arabic, one-half ounce sugar, one pint boiling 
water, juice of one lemon. Add the lemon juice after the other articles 
are dissolved, and strain. Soothing in inflammation of the mucous 
membrane. 

RICE OR CORN COFFEE. 

One cup rice or dried sweet corn ; pound or grind fine, and brown. 
Add one pint cold water, and steep one hour. Strain and serve with 
cream and sugar. 

BARLEY, WHEAT, OR OAT COFFEE. 

Thoroughly brown the grain, then grind. Mix three tablespoonfuls 
with the white of an egg ; pour over it one quart of boiling water. Let 
come to a boil, then set back and steep slowly fifteen minutes. Serve 
with cream and sugar. 

SLIPPERY ELM TEA. 

Pour one cup hot water over one teaspoonful powdered slippery 
elm bark, or over a piece of the fresh bark. Cool, strain and flavor with 
a very little lemon and sugar. Good for inflamed mucous surfaces. 

CRUST OR TOAST COFFEE. 

Pour one pint boiling water over two slices browned crust or toasted 
bread. Steep ten minutes and strain. Serve with sugar and cream. 

IRISH MOSS LEMONADE. 

One cup Irish moss, one pint boiling water. Soak, pick over and 
wash the moss; add the boiling water. Let it stand at the boiling 
point for a half hour, without actually boiling. Strain, add the juice 
of one lemon, and sugar to taste. 



610 DISHES FOR INVALIDS. 

ACID FRUIT BEVERAGES. 

Podr boiling water on mashed cherries, cranberries or other acid 
fruits. Cool, strain and sweeten. Or stir a table spoonful of any acid 
jelly or fruit syrup into a glass of ice water. 

FRUIT RELISHES. 

The possible combinations of fruits with other dishes are as end- 
less as they are delicious. Baked apples, apple sauce, berries of 
various kinds, are all good served with rice or other mushes. Here is 
an improvement on the ordinary apple sauce: 

APPLE CREAM. 

Pare, slice and stew apples as for apple sauce. Pass through a 
colander, and stir into it the white of an egg beaten to a stiff froth. 

BAE2ID APPLES. 

Wash and core several tart apples; fill the openings with sugar; 
pour a little water in the bottom of the baking tin, and bake until soft. 

FRUIT ICE. 

Grate apples, pears, quinces or other fruits fine ; sweeten and freeze. 
Very refreshing in fever or inflammation. 

PIE FOR DYSPEPTICS. 

Dr. Holbrook gives the following recipe, which will be welcomed by 
every lineal descendant of the immortal Jack Horner: 

Four tablespoons of oatmeal, one pint of water ; let stand for a few 
hours, or till the meal is swelled. Then add two large apples, pared 
and sliced, a little salt, one cup of sugar, one tablespoon of flour. 
Mix all well together and bake in a buttered dish; makes a most 
delicious pie, which can be eaten with safety by the sick or well. Ber- 
ries or other fruit may be substituted for the apples. 



CHAPTER XLV1. 

MATERIA MEDICA. 

List oi Mild, Yet Powerful Eemedies — Forms in which They Are Prepared — Doses — 
Frequency in Chronic Cases — In Acute Cases — Strength of Preparation — Effect Can 
Be Gauged Beforehand — Advantages of Refined Remedies — Reaching the Nervous 
System and Spiritual Energies — Analogies with Nature's Other Forces — The Family 
Medicine Chest — Eighty Leading Remedies — Covering a Wide Scope — Where Ob- 
tained — Plain Directions — The Pulse — Exercises — Flexibility of Body at 62 — Mental 
Therapeutics — Costless Mental Treatment — The Principle which Underlies It — The 
Power of Auto-Suggestion — The Harmony of All Nature. 

HOMEOPATHIC remedies are now prepared in the form of pills, 
powders, disks, tablets and liquids, differing in degrees of 
strength. A dose, when prepared as a powder, is an amount that can 
be held on a dime; when prepared as pills, five or six every hour, and 
in the form of a liquid, five or six drops in half a glass of water. In 
the latter case ; give one teaspoonful every twenty to thirty minutes. 
The frequency with which medicine is administered depends entirely 
on existing conditions. In chronic diseases, give from one to three 
doses a day. In acute diseases, remedies are given more frequently, 
every thirty or sixty minutes, or every two hours, according to the 
severity of the case. In regard to the strength of the medicine, the 
third attenuation is generally preferred of the vegetable remedies. Of 
the mineral compounds, such as iron, arsenicum, phosphates, silica, 
sulphur, carbonates of lime, phosphates of lime, mercury, bromides, 
etc., the sixth attenuation is preferable. 

Homeopathic remedies act on all temperaments through their 
physiological action, and in a most satisfactory way. The effect of 
their application is known beforehand, and can be gauged with abso- 
lute certainty. Eefined remedies are more powerful than those which 
are coarse or crude ; their points of advantage are such as the follow- 

611 



612 MATERIA MEDICA. 

ing: 1st. They are more swift and penetrating. 2nd. In the process 
of cure they reach the nervous system and spiritual energies, and thus 
prove upbuilding to the mind as well as the body, embracing as they 
do those basic principles of power which underlie all others. 3rd. 
Acting as they do fundamentally they are more enduring in their 
effect. 4th. They are more safe. 5th. They are more pleasant. 6th. 
They are more easily acquired. 

The swiftness and penetrating power of the fine forces may be 
seen by the following: Steam is more potent than water, or ice; 
electricity is still more swift and powerful; sunlight starts the whole 
vegetable world into life; gravitation sways all worlds, and Spirit, 
the most refined principle of the universe, is the positive law of all 
power. 

Minerals and other solids are the weakest of all elements. 

THE MEDICINE CHEST. 

Homeopathic cases are specially adapted to the re- 
quirements of families and travelers. These cases con- 
tain the most valued remedies used in Homeopathic 
medical practice, expressly prepared at a potency or 
strength suitable for home treatment; also a Medical 
homeopathic Index and Chart of the most frequently occurring dis- 
F <^^ch3^t* eases > D y reference to which any intelligent person can 
scientifically treat the ailments therein designated. 
The following list comprises remedies most used in Homeopathy, 
and embracing a wide sphere of curative action. It is a wise economy, 
and one very generally practiced at the present time, for families to 
supply themselves with these cases or chests. The remedies can also 
be procured separately, at small expense; the bottles come in quarter- 
ounce, half -ounce, ounce, two-ounce and four-ounce sizes: 

MATERIA MEDICA. 

In this we have mentioned only the most prominent uses of each 
remedy, but in most instances have given the particular symptoms 




MATEBIA MEDICA. 



613 



and general conditions under which the remedy proves curative. 

No drugs, medicines, patent medicines, or coffee should be taken 
while using these remedies, as they may interfere with or defeat their 
proper action. 

Aconite.— Useful in the beginning of all inflammatory conditions, 
and especially if arising from exposure to cold, dry winds. For colds, 
catarrhal fever, croup, bronchitis, pleurisy, pneumonia, inflammatory 
rheumatism, simple fevers, hard, dry, croupy coughs, etc. "When 
aconite is indicated the patient is restless, anxious and fearful. This 
remedy is used in the first stage of fevers and colds, also for restless- 
ness, hysteria, vertigo, fulness in the head, and early stages of inflam- 
mation of the eyes. 

Antimonium Crud.— Useful in derangements due to overloading the 
stomach; bilious headaches ; milky- white coating on the tongue; nausea; 
weakness of the stomach; vomiting and diarrhoea; particularly in old 
people. 

Apis Mettifica.— Erysipelas with considerable swelling. Eruptions 
resembling bee-stings, hives, nettle-rash. Dropsy following scarlet 
fevers. Dropsy without thirst, with dark-colored, scanty urine. In- 
voluntary emissions of urine while coughing and sneezing. Is par- 
ticularly indicated by a puffy swelling under the eyes, retention of 
urine and burning or stinging pains in the affected part. Carbuncles. 

Arnica Montana.— Useful in bad effects (whether external or in- 
ternal) from mechanical injuries, sore, aching pains, as if from a 
bruise. A succession of small boils. Gout, sprains, clergymen's sore 
throat. 

Arsenicum Alb.— Disorders of the stomach or bowels from drink- 
ing ice- water, or from eating ice cream or fruit, especially when ac- 
companied by sudden and rapid prostration, and attended with violent 
thirst, the patient drinking often, but little at a time; burning pains 
in the stomach and bowels. Catarrhal discharge of a watery nature 
from the nose, with burning feeling. Cankered sore mouth. Scaly 
eruptions, with itching and burning. Diarrhoea, with watery burning 



614 MATERIA MEDICA. 

discharge* Asthma, with burning in the chest. Warm applications re- 
lieve. In catarrhal affections Arsenic iod. is preferred by many. 

Aurum. Met.— Of great value in old catarrhs, melancholy with ten- 
dency to suicide, falling out of the hair, chronic swelling of the testicles, 
styes. 

Baptisia.—In gastric or typhoid fever, given early in the attack, 
it will frequently break the fever and produce perspiration. Useful in 
all stages of typhoid when there is a confusion of ideas, dull, stupefying 
headache; patient's hands feel too large, and he feels scattered about. 
Useful also in diphtheria and dysentery with similar symptoms. 

Belladonna.— Throbbing headache, periodical nervous headache. 
Diphtheria, throat red and shining, face flushed. Bleeding of the nose 
when menses should appear. Sore throat, tonsilitis, scarlet fever, con- 
vulsions in infants; wetting the bed in little children; sleeplessness, 
the patient feeling drowsy but unable to sleep ; erysipelas, with smooth, 
shining shin, not much swelling; inflammation of the eye, with intol- 
erance of light. Preventive in scarlet fever. Uterine congestions, in 
which pains appear suddenly and disappear just as suddenly. Symp- 
toms aggravated by noise, light and motion. 

Bryonia.— Rheumatism, lumbago, pleurisy and gout; when these 
diseases are aggravated by the least motion and relieved by perfect 
rest; in bronchitis affecting large tubes only; cold on chest, with dry 
cough. Chronic constipation with torpor of the bowels; biliousness, 
congestion and rheumatic headache. Frontal headaches that are worse 
on stooping. 

Cactus Grandiflora.—F 'or all troubles of the throat. Sensation of 
constriction of the heart as if an iron band prevents its normal move- 
ments, very acute stitches in the heart, palpitation of the heart, con- 
gestion of the chest which prevents lying, pains in apex of heart, shoot- 
ing pains in the left arm to the fingers, spasmodic cough with mucus 
expectoration, oppression of breathing, worse on motion; the patient 
has an inclination to weep, and is irritable and melancholy; there is 
irregularity of heart's action. 



MATERIA MEDICA. 615 

Tincture 6 drops in glass of water, tablespoonful every hour. 

Calcarea Carb.— Best adapted to the diseases of women and chil- 
dren, i. e., scrofulous, tuberculous and rachitic conditions; difficult 
teething, retarded development of the bones in children who sweat a 
great deal about the head. Diarrhoea of children during teething, and 
of consumptives. Premature and profuse menstruation, leucorrhcea, 
burning and itching. 

Calendula.— Used locally in the form of a cerate, or aqueous ex- 
tract (Fluid Calendula), in open, ragged or torn wounds, jagged cuts, 
sores, bed sores, old ulcers, to heal boils, burns, scalds, stings and bites 
of insects. 

Camphor.— As a preventive in the beginning of catarrh, colds and 
diarrhoea. Useful in sudden prostration, from any cause. A palliative 
in hay-fever, collapse stage; also early stage of cholera or cholera- 
morbus, with prostration, blue lips, cold sweat and cramps. 

Cannabis Sativ a.— Gonorrhoea in all stages; relieves the pain and 
shortens the duration of disease. Chordee. 

Cantharis.— Acute inflammation of the bladder or kidneys. Con- 
stant desire to urinate but only a few drops each time, with more or 
less burning. Urine is generally high colored and scanty but is often 
bloody. 

Capsicum or Red Pepper.— Is an excellent stimulant in stomach 
troubles by stimulating the mucous membrane of stomach to increase 
its vitality to digest food; it is also a remedy for fat, lazy, uncleanly, 
clumsy, awkward, peevish, easily offended people, with blue eyes and 
light hair. 

Carbo Veg.—ls useful in flatulency, acidity of the stomach, and 
heart-burn, accompanied by distressing oppression. "The sufferer 
wants to be fanned." Ailments after the abuse of mercury. 

Caulophyllum.— Threatened miscarriage, with cramps and hem- 
orrhages. Painful menstruation, leucorrhoea in child, suppression of 
menses, with menstrual colic. 

Causticum.— Wetting the bed in children. Paralysis of the blad- 



616 MATERIA MEDICA. 

der, paralysis of the vocal cords, rawness and soreness of the larynx 
and trachea, with loss of voice, particularly in speakers and singers. 

Chamomilla.—A. good remedy for cross, teething children. Teeth- 
ing diarrhoea, stools green, watery and corroding, smelling like rotten 
eggs and containing white particles; child wants to be carried all the 
time; one cheek red, the other pale; very nervous. Sleeplessness in 
children. Nervousness, palpitation, etc., from the use of coffee or 
tobacco. Nervous or biliary derangements from anger or vexation. 

China.— Complaints of a periodical character. Physical weakness 
from loss of blood or animal fluids. Intermittent fever. Painless di- 
arrhoea from eating fruit. Menstruation, too early and too profuse. 
Malaria. 

Chinin Arsen.— Useful in affections accompanied by depressed, 
debilitated or malarial conditions of the system; when patient aches 
all over and complains of a tired, languid feeling. As in colds, neu- 
ralgias, malarial fevers, etc. Especially useful when there is a marked 
tendency toward periodical recurrence of attacks. 

Cimici fug a.— Painful menstruation, with neuralgic pains or head- 
ache (top of head feels as though it would fly off). Suitable to person 
of neuralgic or rheumatic nature, or one troubled with uterine dis- 
eases. 

Cina.— Worms in children. Child constantly picks the nose; very 
fretful, cries out at night, wets the bed; unnatural hunger. Cries for 
sweet things; has a peculiar pinched appearance; abdomen bloated; 
child grinds teeth at night. See Santonine. 

Cocculus Ind.—Siek headache, diarrhoea or vomiting induced by 
riding on the cars, in carriages, or in boats. Sea-sickness. 

Coffea Cruda.— Useful in sleeplessness, restlessness and nervous 
disorders of women, children and aged persons. Neuralgia of the 
right side of the head and face. 

Colchicum.— Gout and gouty affections, with tearing and lacerat- 
ing pains. Asthma and heart affections with paroxysms of gout. 



MATERIA MEDIOii. 617 

Swelling, pain, heat, redness and lameness of the extremities. Useful 
in many complaints of gouty persons. 

Co locynth.— Colic, with diarrhoea. Neuralgia of the face, chiefly 
on the right side. Sciatic rheumatism, darting down the leg from the 
hip to the foot. Dysenteric diarrhoea, colicky pains, passing a great 
deal of blood. 

Collinsonia.— Bleeding piles, with constipation. Painful menstrua- 
tion with piles. Obstinate constipation, with protruding piles. Itch- 
ing of the vulva. 

Crocus Sativus.— Excessive flow of the menses; the blood is black- 
ish and clotted. Also rush of blood to the head with nose bleeding. 
Hysteria, with laughing-fits. Sensation as if something living were 
jumping about in the pit of the stomach, or abdomen. 

Croton Tig.— Diarrhoea, with yellowish or greenish watery stools 
coming out in one gush. Diarrhoea worse after drinking; while nurs- 
ing, while eating during summer. Intense itching and burning of the 
skin. 

Cuprum Met.— Derangement of the nervous system, characterized 
by cramps, convulsive movements and spasms. St. Vitus' dance of the 
upper extremities, or of one side of the body. Epilepsy, hysteria, an- 
gina pectoris ; spasmodic asthma, spasmodic cholera, and gastrointes- 
tinal inflammations; also for wetting the bed at night, and scantiness 
or entire suppression of urine. 

Digitalis.— Heart-disease and dropsy, with dizziness, faintness, 
shortness of breath, palpitation, slow, irregular and intermittent pulse, 
or quickened and feeble action of the heart. Dropsy of the kidneys 
and suppression of the urine. 

Br o sera.— "Whooping-cough, paroxysmal, with hemorrhage from the 
mouth and nose, or ending with choking or vomiting. 

Dulcamara.— Chronic muscular rheumatism, aggravated by cold 
weather; headache, earache or diarrhoea, caused by cold. Diseases 
brought on by exposure or cold. 

Eupatorium Perf.— Useful in bilious intermittent fever with intol- 



618 MATEKIA MEDICA. 

erable aching and soreness of the limbs. Severe colds with derange- 
ment of the liver ; influenza ; la grippe with chilliness, headache, nausea, 
biliousness, coryza and bodily soreness. 

Ferrum Phos.— Anemia, headache, following loss of blood. First 
stages of catarrh; first stage of diphtheria. Articular rheumatism. 
Fever. 

Gelsemium.—A valuable remedy in the first stages of many fevers, 
—as Catarrhal and eruptive fevers; malaria; bilious, remittent or in- 
termittent fevers. Fevers without thirst, with chilly sensations along 
the spine, and goose flesh all over the body, cold extremities, head and 
face hot, dull headache, suffused eyes, etc. Useful in fresh colds, in- 
fluenza or la grippe. Painful menstruation with sick headache. Many 
nervous disorders. Neuralgia of the left side of face. Headache with 
pain over right eye. Sunstroke. Diarrhoea produced by fear or fright, 
etc. Under Gelsemium the patient is drowsy when fever is high, thus 
distinguishing it from aconite. 

Graphites.— For eruptions which contain a thick, honey-like fluid; 
unhealthy skin, cracks and excoriations. Constipation, with large, 
knotty stools, coexisting with a dry, harsh skin. 

Glonoine.— Congestion of blood to the head; temples and top of 
head feel as if it would burst; violent, throbbing headaches, vertigo, 
fainting and headaches at change of life or during menses. Sunstroke. 

Golden Seal.Same as Hydrastis. 

Hamamelis.— Varicose veins, bleeding piles, internal hemorrhage, 
painful menstruation and inflammation of the ovaries. Should be used 
locally (in the form of the Distilled Extract of Witch Hazel) as well as 
internally. Catarrh, particularly that form with nose-bleed. Sore 
eyes, scalds, burns, erysipelas, etc. 

Helonias.— This remedy is peculiarly a female remedy, regulating 
and controlling the sexual organs, the womb and ovaries, where there 
are dragging, aching pains in lower part of back, excessive uterine 
hemorrhage, a sensation of weight and soreness of the womb, leucor- 



MATERIA MEDICA. 619 

rhea or whites, prolapsus, with ulceration, and a constant dark bloody 
fetid discharge. 

Hepar Sulphur.— For glandular affections. Chronic glandular 
swellings, ulcers and scaly eruptions. Suppuration from any part in 
scrofulous persons. Hoarse cough, following measles. Membranous 
croup. Skin unhealthy, disposition to eruptions and boils— when every 
scratch festers. Painless diarrhoea, whitish and sour smelling. Pa- 
tient longs for acids, wine and strong-tasting food. 

Hydrastis.— Indigestion with sensation of weakness at pit of stom- 
ach. Chronic constipation, cankered sore mouth. Physical exhaustion 
as the result of or accompanied by indigestion or dyspepsia. 

Hyoscyamus.— Spasms, with jerking and twitching of every muscle. 
Dry spasmodic cough, with tickling in the throat. Nightly sleepless- 
ness. Delirium, with muttering and picking at the bed-clothes. Hys- 
teria. 

Ignatia.— Hysteria and other nervous disorders, sleeplessness and 
the consequences of fright and grief. Nervous headaches. 

Ipecac.— Nausea, desire to vomit, accompanying diarrhoea; stools 
green with considerable griping. Mild forms of cholera-infantum. 
Menstruation too early and too profuse. Cough, with rattling of phlegm 
in throat and bronchials. Spasmodic asthma. Morning sickness. 
Nausea and vomiting with almost all ailments. 

Iron.— See Ferrum Phos., the same as phosphate of iron. 

Kali Bichrom.— For diphtheria, with tough, stringy, ropy mucus. 
Catarrh, with inflammation and ulceration of the nose, purulent and 
bloody discharge, sometimes coming in tough elastic plugs, green and 
fetid. Fetid smell from nose. Frontal headache. True, membranous 
croup. Chronic bronchitis, coughing up tough, stringy mucus. 

Kali Iodatum or Iodide of Potassium.— Its main action is upon the 
lymphatic and glandular system. The best antidote to mercury; ex- 
cellent in syphilitic diseases, scrofula, enlarged atrophied glands, deep- 
eating ulcers, chronic rheumatism, diseases and swelling of bones, con- 
tractions of muscles and tendons, stinging, burning, smarting, prick- 



620 MATERIA MEDICA. 

ling, itching of the skin, eruption like nettle rash over entire body, and 
hives. 

Kali Muriaticuni.—See Belladonna, which has the same influence. 

Lachesis.— Diphtheria, beginning on the left side and extending to 
the right ; throat is dark purplish in appearance. Particularly adapted 
to women during the change of life. Symptoms all worse after sleep. 
Patient cannot bear anything tight about the waist. Left side most 
affected. 

Lobelia In.— Very valuable in spasmodic asthma, with sick head- 
ache, hacking cough, violent nausea, vomiting and great weakness. 

Lycopodium.— Indigestion, water-brash, heart-burn. Flatulency in 
the intestines, with constipation. Kidney troubles ; dark, scanty urine, 
deposits red, sandy sediment. Consumptive cough, with expectoration 
of large quantities of gray salty pus ; fan-like motion of the nostrils. 

M aero tin.— Same as Cimicifuga. 

Mercurius Biniod.— Nasal catarrh which also affects back of mouth 
and throat, constant desire to hawk up phlegm, ulcerated sore throat 
and tonsilitis ; alternate with Belladonna. Diphtheria and diphtheritic 
croup. 

Mercurius Corr.— Very useful in dysentery, or cold in the bowels, 
mucus discharges ; persistent desire to stool, with burning pains, and a 
peculiar feeling of misery in the rectum after stool. Catarrhal inflam- 
mation of the bowels. 

Mercurius Sol.— Very similar in its action to Mercurius vivis; but 
preferred by many physicians. 

Mercurius Viv.— Impoverished, pale, sallow and unhealthy appear- 
ance. Biliary or liver derangements. Impaired appetite. Cold in the 
head, sore throat, sensitiveness to cold and damp, with chilliness. Head- 
ache from catarrh. Rheumatic headache, bilious and syphilitic sub- 
jects. Diarrhoea, with much straining at stool. Mercurius patient's 
symptoms are worse at night and in damp, rainy weather. Profuse 
perspiration, with all complaints, but it affords no relief. 

Natrum Mur.— Fever-blisters or cold sores about the mouth. Inter- 



MATERIA MEDICA. 



621 



mittent fever after abuse of quinine. Chill about 10 a. m. Catarrh 
worse at the seaside. 

Nitric Acid.— Ulceration, syphilitic or mercurial, of the mouth and 
throat, foul-smelling, and spreading rapidly. Secondary syphilis, and 
after abuse of mercury. Corns and bunions. 

Nux Vomica.— Dyspepsia and constipation; suited to all affections 
of the nervous and digestive system due to depression, consequent on 
over-stimulation; as overstraining the nervous system by haste and 
worry in business, excessive study, anxiety, etc., by the abuse of alco- 
holic drinks, coffee and other stimulants. 

Opium.— Constipation of children, stools resemble round, hard black 
balls. Useful in affections or diseases that originate from fright. 

Phosphoric Acid.— Nervous debility and prostration. Debility of 
male sexual organs. Chronic or painless diarrhoea. Diabetes. Invol- 
untary seminal emissions. Typhoid fever, with debility, stupor, di- 
arrhoea and indifference. 

Phosphorus.— Inflammation of the lungs, consumption, pneumonia, 
hectic fever, paralysis, epilepsy and spinal paralysis from debilitating 
causes. Cough irritating, with rusty-colored or greenish expectora- 
tions, loss of voice, hoarseness, nightsweats. Suitable to tall, slender 
people. Pneumonia after febrile symptoms have partially subsided. 

Phytolacca.— Diphtheria, ulcerated sore throat, enlarged tonsils. 
Inflammation of the breasts; nipples sore and cracked (Phytolacca 
Cerate should also be used locally). Syphilitic rheumatism. Chronic 
ulcers. 

Podophyllum.— Biliousness and bilious diarrhoea, alternated with 
constipation. Gall-stone colic. Chronic inflammation of the liver. Morn- 
ing diarrhoea. Podophyllin, the active principle of Podophyllum, is 
generally preferred. 

Psorinum.— Acts especially upon the skin and mucous membrane, 

for troubles such as herpes, salt rheum, chilblain and seasickness; and 

also upon affections arising from anger, vexation, etc. 

Pulsatilla.— Female derangements, suppressed or delayed menses, 
36 v. 



622 MATEEIA MEDICA. 

painful menstruation from getting the feet wet; leucorrhcea from de- 
layed menses. Nasal catarrh, with greenish or yellowish discharge, 
and a loss of taste and smell. Swelling of ovaries, or testicles. Measles, 
earache. Patients requiring Pulsatilla are usually of a mild, yielding 
disposition. Symptoms worse at night, in a warm room; dislike to 
fat, greasy food; patient craves air and acids. 

Rhus Tox.— Eheumatism, lumbago, acute and chronic from get- 
ting wet or taking cold, or from checking perspiration. Indicated by 
increase of pain while at rest, while in bed, or on first moving around, 
relieved by continual motion and warmth. Valuable in strains, ery- 
sipelas with vesicles. 

Sanguinaria.— Coughs that sound loose but in which expectoration 
is difficult. Sick headaches, the pain commencing at the back of the 
neck, spreading over the head and settling above the right eye, with 
nausea and vomiting. Menses too early or too profuse, with sick 
headaches. 

Santonine.See Cina. This is the active principle of Cina and 
should be used for worms in preference to Cina. 

Secale Cor.— Menses too profuse and too long continued, discharge 
dark, liquid blood, increased by motion. Threatened abortion in later 
months. Uterine hemorrhages. 

Sepia.— Periodical headaches, particularly of women suffering from 
uterine derangements. Yellow spots on the face, scanty menstruation 
and leucorrhcea. Constipation of pregnancy. Nasal catarrh, with dis- 
charge of solid pieces. Moth-spots on face; yellow bridge across the 
nose; pimples on the forehead near the hair. 

Silicea.— Suitable to scrofulous persons suffering from eruptions. 
Often aborts boils if taken when they first appear. Catarrh, with 
ulcers in the nose, loss of smell, and itching of tip of nose. 

Spigelia.— Periodical attacks of neuralgia affecting the left side 
of the face; toothache; faceache; palpitation. Pinworms (i. e., seat 
or thread worms) in weak, puny or scrofulous children. 

Spongia.—A valuable remedy in croup (alternated with Aconite, 



MATEEIA MEDICA. 623 

Hepar sulphur or Kali bichr.). The Spongia cough is dry, hoarse, hol- 
low, rough and irritating. Useful also in chronic hoarseness, loss of 
voice, goitre, etc. 

Staphy sag via.— Often useful in affections of the eyelids; especially 
for styes, tumors, nodosities. For caries of the teeth when they turn 
black and crumble; and cankered sore mouth. 

Strychnine.— Same as Nux Vomica. 

Sulphur.— Diseases of the skin and mucus membrane. Ill-health of 
children and others, without definite cause. Scrofulous disorders. Use- 
ful in beginning the treatment of chronic diseases. Early morning 
diarrhoea. Pimples on the face. Chronic catarrh. Chronic constipa- 
tion and piles. Unhealthy eruption in children. 

Strychnine.— Same as Nux Vomica. 

Tartar Emetic— Cough, with rattling of mucus in throat and lungs, 
with inability to get it up. Skin eruption, resembling that in the small- 
pox and leaving pits. Cough and croup, with inclination to vomit. 

Uranium Nitricum.— Its chief action is upon the kidneys; its chief 
therapeutic application is in the treatment of diabetes and Bright 's 
disease; also in dropsy. 

Veratrum Alb.— Asiatic cholera, with vomiting and purging. Chol- 
era-morbus and cramps in the abdomen and legs. Cholera-infantum, 
with cold sweat on the forehead, worse after drinking; considerable 
thirst and great weakness. 

Veratrum Veride.—S&me as Veratrum Alb. 

Viburnum Opulus.— This remedy exerts its most marked action 
upon the female generative organs for the treatment of congestions, 
neuralgia of the womb, painful menstruation, and threatened abortion. 

Brain Food.— Unexcelled for conditions brought on by sexual de- 
bility, worry, grief, excessive study, mental strains from any cause, 
low spirits, nervousness, palpitation of the heart, groundless fears of 
jmancial ruin. This medicine is not the dish for invalids, page 604. 

Ostine No. l.—A bone and nerve food for babies, and the sovereign 
remedy for the ills of the teething period. (See Chapter on Teething.) 



624 MATERIA MEDICA. 

Ostine No. 2.—K brain, nerve and bone food for boys and girls who 
are ailing from any source and also for those who appear well but 
are slow to grasp ideas, deficient in memory or backward in studies 

Balm Palmetto Capsules.— These are non-narcotic and non-astring- 
ent. The process is called the absorption treatment, which applies the 
soothing, life-giving balm directly to the afflicted part, nature's own 
cure. Brings permanent relief and cure to all the female organs and 
surrounding parts. So far it is the only cure known for barrenness 
(sterility) and displacements of the womb, congestion, inflammation, 
ulceration, etc. 

Tri-Cura Cap sules.— Specific for all rectal diseases, chronic consti- 
pation, painful hemorrhoids, piles of all kinds, ulceration, fistula, pro- 
Japsus of the bowels; relieves nocturnal emissions, rejuvenates the sex- 
ual organs and restores vigor to body and mind. 

Tolcoine.— The purpose of Tokoine is to make the labor of confine- 
ment absolutely safe and practically painless. It does all of this 
without the least danger to the lives or health of either mother or child. 

Homeopathic medicines are now sold in the following forms: 

Dilutions, which are attenuated liquid potencies. 

Pellets (globules), medicated with the dilutions. 

Disks (cones), medicated with the dilutions. 

Triturations, remedies in the powder form. 

Tablets, triturations pressed into tablet form. 

When not to be obtained locally, the remedies, including those spe- 
cially compounded by the author, can be procured by mail, at slight ex- 
pense, of Dr. Melendy, 3815 Ellis Avenue, Chicago, and also of any 
leading Homeopathic Pharmacists in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, 
San Francisco and other large cities, as well as in numerous smaller 
places the country over. 

PLAIN DIRECTIONS FOB USE OF THESE REMEDIES IN THE WITHIN NAMED 

DISEASES. 

Dose of Tinctures. —Four drops for adults; two drops for children; 



MATERIA MEDICA. 625 

one drop for infants, in a glass of water. A teaspoonful every twenty 
minutes and less often as the patient improves. 

Dose of Pellets.— Six pellets for adults, four for children, two for 
infants. To be dissolved on the tongue. 

Alternately— Means first a dose of one, and after a length of twenty 
minutes, a dose of the other. 

Frequency of Dose.— This depends so largely upon the nature of 
the disease that specific directions are given in each instance. As a 
general rule, in chronic diseases, a dose should be given one-half hour 
before meals and on retiring; as improvement takes place, a dose night 
and morning will be sufficient. 

In acute diseases of a painful character a dose may be given every 
fifteen to twenty minutes until relief is obtained ; then every one, two or 
three hours according to the circumstances. 

Ordinarily in acute diseases, a dose every one or two hours will be 
sufficient. Occasionally a disease may seem aggravated by the medi- 
cine; in homeopathy this is a good sign. It indicates that you have 
chosen the right remedy, but it is too strong and must be diluted with 
more water, or given less often. If the 2x was used try 3x; if a 3x 
caused the aggravation, use the 6x. 

THE PULSE. 

The average number of pulse beats per minute will be found as 
follows: First year, 125; second year, 110; third year, 95; fifth to 
eighth year, 58 to 90 ; near puberty, 80 to 85 ; adult life, 70 to 75 ; old 
age, 50 to 65. In females it averages 10 beats faster than in males. 
Each person has a normal number of beats per minute, from which 
there are only trifling and temporary variations, except in disease. 

MENTAL THERAPEUTICS. 

A costless cure for every ailment, to combine with physical exer- 
cises. This whole treatment, with but slight variations, is practiced 
among some of the Orientals, who thus dispel an attack of indigestion 
or any other attack including the " blues.' ' After the exercise prac- 



626 



MATERIA MEDICA. 



tice the breathing, inhaling and exhaling, counting 7 at each inhalation ; 
continue breathing three minutes, then sit quietly in your room, free- 
ing your mind of every care and worry and repeat audibly or inaudibly 
to yourself the following affirmations: 

I now close myself to all outside influences, and open myself wide 
to the inflow of the divine spirit. 

I am now filled with divine spirit. 

I am now filled with divine love. 

I am now filled with divine power. 

I am now filled with divine knowledge and wisdom to control this 
power. 

I am now filled with divine faith ; faith in this infinite power, and in 
myself through it. 

I am now filled with divine life and health. 

I am now filled with divine success, prosperity and plenty. 

And I radiate all these divine qualities to the whole world. 

Repeat this exercise for a month once a day and observe the mar- 
velous results. This costless treatment practiced ten minutes once 
a day does not in the least conflict with any remedy or treatment given 
in this book ; on the contrary it aids and stimulates the action of them. 
I need not repeat what has already been explained in the chapters 
on Nervous Troubles, The Change of Life, Education in the Family, 
etc., but to sum up, here is the principle of mental treatment. Remem- 
ber that the mind is the real self; that certain brain cells control the 
action of the subconscious mind, which takes its suggestions from the 
conscious mind; that these brain cells are the very ones most closely 
connected with the sympathetic nervous system, which controls all the 
vital processes; and you will see why auto-suggestion has this seem- 
ingly magical power to draw from both physical and spiritual forces 
to give new life and health to the body. All nature is harmonious, be- 
cause divinely created; and the divine good flows without stint into 
every mind open to receive it. 



INDEX 



Page 

Abdomen, Bath to Eeduce 121 

Bath to Strengthen 121 

Exercise to Eeduce 192 

Puffy 63 

Troubles in Pregnancy 378 

Abortion 337 

Labor after 398 

When Permissible 338 

Abrasions 573 

Absence Enhances Married Love 265 

Absorption of Seminal Fluid 314 

the Key to Health 289 

Accidents and Emergencies 572 

Preparing for 572 

Acid Fruit Beverages 610 

Acquisition Pre-Natal Culture 348 

Acting, Women in 486 

Acute Bronchitis 547 

Diseases 611 

Nephritis 564 

Advertising Solicitors, Women 486 

Affirmations 626 

Age to Marry 235 

Air, A Breath of 122 

Bath 115 

Cells, 600 Millions 124 

How Composed 124 

Pure, for Infant 424 

Shafts 123 

Alcoholics Inferior to Hot Milk 607 

Alcoholism, Fruits Bemedy for 97 

Aloes for Weaning 440 

Ammonia Bath 112 

for Snakebites 575 

Ancient Standard of Beauty 74 

Anecdote, German Scientist 43 

Anger Deforms Beauty 80 

Poisons Mother's Milk 434 

Animals, Breeding of 344 

Answer Questions 40 

Anteflexion of the Womb 494 

Anteversion of the Womb 492 

Antidotes for Poisons 578 

Aperient, Colostrum 427 

Olive Oil 428 

Aphthae 429 

Appetite, Excessive, in Pregnancy 383 

from Breathing 538 

Lack of, in Pregnancy 382 



Page 

Appetites Arise from Food 454 

Apple and Fig Juice 608 

Cream 610 

Apples, Baked 610 

for Constipation 550 

Aprons, Oilcloth 204 

Ardency, Woman Values 248 

Areola, The 285 

Arms, Berry Bath for 186 

Electricity for 185 

Massage for 186 

Bough 186 

Tapering 63 

Arrowroot Gruel 596 

Art, Pre-Natal Culture 348 

Women in 485 

Asiatic Cholera 540, 548 

Asthma 544 

Attraction, Magnetic 229 

Attractive or Magnetic Force 125 

Attractiveness Increased by Dress 196 

"Aura" of Strong Personalities 126 

Author's Own Case of Peritonitis 500 

Portrait and Sketch 29 

Auto-Suggestion, Power of 626 

Back, Strengthening the 191 

Baked Apples 610 

Milk 599 

Baldness 178 

Ballot, Woman's, Based on Health 489 

Balm Palmetto Capsules. 624 

Barley Gruel 595 

Soup 601 

Barrenness, Indian, a Disgrace 392 

Bashf ulness 248 

Bath, Air 115 

Ammonia 112 

Bed 119 

Borax for 107 

Bran, for Complexion 113 

Cabinet, Making a 119 

Cold Ill 

Drying the Baby 420 

Ear 157 

Earth-Cure 116 

Foot 116 

for Bright 's Disease 546 

for Infant 419 

for Infant's Ankles 423 



627 



628 



INDEX. 



Page 

Bath — Continued. 

for Nervous People 114 

for Painful Menses 497 

for Slender Woman 187 

General Directions 110 

Hot Ill 

Indoor Salt 112 

Medicated 113 

Nose 158 

Olive Oil 114 

Oriental 116 

Plunge 110 

Eeaction from 110 

Eestful Sleep from 113 

Sand, for Feet 166 

Sea 112 

Sitz 119 

Soft Water Bequired 107 

Sponge 110 

Sponge, How Taken Ill 

Sun 115 

to Eeduce Abdomen 121 

Vapor 120 

Vinegar -Brush 114 

Warm 113 

When, for Baby 421 

Bathing for Boils 507 

for Change of Life 470 

for Womb Displacement 491 

in All Lands 108 

Preceding Conception 329 

Baths for Falling of the Womb 491 

for Fevers 535, 537 

for Peritonitis 503 

Good for Every Disease 107 

of Historic Beauties 108 

Bearing, Graceful 66 

Beautiful at 50 as at 15 78, 473 

Love of 83 

Teeth 89 

Beauty, American, Surpasses Grecian... 76 

Artificial, Not Transmitted 86 

Attracted by Strength 246 

Baths 107 

Blonde 66 

Breakfast, Ideal 96 

Brunette 66 

Deeply Planted 78 

Deformed by Anger 80 

Deformed by Hatred 80 

Diet 87 

from Plainness 79 

Greatest after 25 77 

Inborn Love of 474 

in Form 77 

Jaded and Worn 79 

Mental, Admired 68 

Mental Laws of 473, 532 

Plump Type ' . 66 



Page 
Beauty — Continued. 

Preserved by Mind 474 

Producing Foods 87 

Promise of Maternity 62 

Eacial Standards 67 

Eestored by Love 80 

Sex Sources of 80 

Slender Type 66 

Special Treatment for 113 

which Endures ., 78 

which Fades 78 

will "Work Out" 245 

Beauty's Cardinal Points 86 

True Basis 80 

Bed Bath a 119 

Clothing 588 

for Childbirth 403 

Bedding for Sick Eooms 590 

Bedrooms, Charcoal in 586 

Close 123 

Lime in 586 

Ventilation of 586 

Beds, Airing 588 

Separate, Why 587 

Beef Pulp, Broiled 600 

Tea 601 

Tea, Not for Fevers or Inflamma- 
tions 601 

Beginnings of Life 56 

Beverages, Acid Fruit 610 

for Invalids 607 

Bilious Fever 545 

Biliousness, Diet for 98 

Birds in the Schoolroom 459 

Bites from Mad Dogs 575 

from Poisonous Serpents 575 

Black Garments, Effect of 527 

Blackheads 148 

Bladder, Diabetes 554 

Gravel 559 

Inflammation of 561 

Irritated in Pregnancy 384 

Paralysis of 566 

The, in Labor 404 

Blanc Mange, Fruit 600 

Bleeding from Lungs 545 

from Nose 545 

from Stomach 545 

How to Arrest 573 

Blood, Controlled by Nervous System. . .525 

Depletion of 293 

Iron in 125 

Massage for Circulation of 538 

35,000 Pints through Lungs 125 

Blotches 148 

Body-Builders Want Material 445 

Sacredness of 461 

Young in Spirit 475 

Boiled Eice 605 



INDEX. 



629 



Boiling the Water. . . , 592 

Boils 504 

Bathing for 507 

Dressing of 507 

Opening of 504 

Poultices for 504 

Suppuration of 504 

Bones, Broken 577 

Bonnets 206 

Borax for Bath 107 

Bottle, Nursing, The 442 

Bowels Collapsed 503 

Cosmoline Dressing for 537 

Infant's, Colostrum for 427 

Inflammation of 561 

Bash in 536 

The, After Childbirth 409 

The, in Childbirth 405 

Boys, Adopted Mother's Lessons to 465 

Special Warning to 291 

Boy, The Chivalric 488 

Brain-Cells 41 

Brain, Clear, for Marriage 221 

Comparative Weight of 43 

Convolutions 41 

Exercise 46 

Fever 51 

Pood Dish for Invalids 604 

Food, Valuable Medical Compound. 623 

Inflammation of 562 

Male and Female 42 

Belation with Nerves 526 

Budiments of 361 

Softening of the 568 

The 40 

"Brain-Fag," or Waste 51 

Treatment of 528 

Bran Bath 113 

Gruel 596 

Jelly 598 

Bread, Hot 101 

Breads and Toasts 606 

Breakfast, Fruit for 95 

Breast-Bone Muscles, Developing 185 

Breast, Gathered 431, 499 

Pump 430 

Breasts, Cabbage Leaves for 431 

Female 284 

Full 63 

Glass Nipple Shields 431 

Inflammation of the 562 

Pregnancy Alters 356 

Swollen, in Pregnancy 384 

Wash for 440 

"Breathe Like a Horse" 130 

Breathing, After Fevers 538 

. an Appetizer 538 

at Change of Life .469 

Correct, Creates Magnetism. ... .126 



Pagd 
Breathing — Continued. 

Deep, for Pregnancy .402 

Deep, Impossible with Corsets. . . .199 

Exercises, Five 132 

for Bright 's Disease 546 

for Neck and Chest 185 

for Slender Woman 187 

in Childbirth 406 

Incomplete 127 

Labored 537 

Limited by Corsets 127 

Marion Harland 's 128 

Preparation for Conception 329 

Bemedies Blue Veins 132 

(Bight) a Salvation 128 

Bhythmical 130 

"Ten Times Ten" 128 

to Cure Fatigue 133 

to Bestore Calmness 130 

Breath of Air, A. 122 

Breeding of Animals 344 

' ' Bright 's Disease " 545 

Brimstone for Disinfecting 590 

for Fumigation 591 

Broiled Beef Pulp 600 

Broken Bones 577 

Breasts 499 

Hearts 53 

Bronchitis, Acute 547 

Brooding on One Thing 520 

Broths, Meats and Soups 600 

Browned Bice 605 

Bruises 572 

Turpentine for 574 

Brushing the Hair 175 

Burgdorf , Author 's Birthplace 29 

Burning Feet 166 

Burns 584 

Business, Mutual Interest in 257 

Bust, Delsarte Exercises for 191 

Electricity for 185 

Exercise for 187 

Well-Bounded 64 

Buttermilk 607 

Pop 600 

Cabbage Leaves for Breasts 431 

Cabinet, Bath, Making a 119 

Cakes, Griddle 101 

"Camping Out" 139 

Cancer of the Womb 495 

Cankered Sore Mouth 511 

Capsules, Balm Palmetto 624 

Tri-Cura 624 

Cardiac Plexus 52 

Card Plan, The, to Control Thought 296 

Catarrh 547 

Arsenic iod. for 614 

Caused by Tobacco 547 



630 



INDEX. 



Page 

Catarrhal Sore Mouth 429 

Cathartics, to be Avoided in Fevers 539 

Cellars 585 

Cereals, Cooking 104 

Chafing, Infant 421 

Chalk-Dust in Hair 176 

Chamomile Flowers 507 

Tea, How Prepared 497 

Change of Life, Cheerful During 470 

Duration of 470 

in Man 472 

Men Vigorous After 472 

Men's, Treatment for 473 

Natural 469 

Normal Eesults 469 

Prolong the Menses 471 

Symptoms of 469 

Time of 469 

Treatment of 470 

Changing Your Mind 52 

Chapped Hands 163 

Charcoal in Sleeping Eooms 586 

Cheese 91 

Chest, Broadening the 129 

Growth 186 

Chicken Broth No. 1 601 

Broth No. 2 602 

Panada 603 

Chickenpox 521, 539 

Chilblains 167 

Child Affected by Mother's Thought 528 

a Gift to Society 412 

a Welcome 320 

His Natural Faults 463 

Kindergarten Training of 412 

Loved and Well Born 346 

Loved from the Beginning 346 

Molded by Mother 344 

Mother Guardian of 462 

4 'Mothers Help a Lot" 467 

New-Born, Care of 407 

of Love, The 311 

Overstudy by 531 

Part of Parents' Bodies 292 

Punishing, Not in Anger 463 

Pure Training, or Impure 462 

Saxe Holmes' Story 345 

Teach, to Admire Creation 462 

the "Figure of Pathos" 487 

Trained through Feeling 463 

Training Delayed Invites Impur- 
ity 463 

Training, Never Hasty 463 

Value of 412 

Childbirth, Age No Hindrance 406 

at Seven Months 397 

Bed for 403 

Care After 409 



Page 
Childbirth — Continued. 

Correct Breathing in 406 

Delivery of Placenta 408 

Dress for 407 

Drink During 407 

Instrumental 410 

Made Easy 391 

My First Attendance 396 

Never Lost a Case 399 

Oiling Vagina in , 405 

Pain, a Perversion 392 

Painless, with Indians 391 

Perspiration Needed in 406 

Eelief After 409 

Swiss Herb Tea in 399 

Tokoine in 399 

Without Aid 399 

Childhood's Sense of Kinship 452 

Children, Constipation of 519 

Diarrhoea of 519 

Diet for 510 

Froebel's "Graded Gifts" for... 454 

Help a Nursing Mother 434 

Keeping, Healthy 510 

Lovingly Welcomed 345 

Milk for 511 

Not to be Frightened 527 

Overalls for 510 

"Playing House" 481 

Pre-Natal Environment of 347 

Singing Games for 454 

Sloyd System for 454 

Teach, Sacredness of Body 461 

Thrust into the World 335 

to Play in Sand 510 

Water for 444 

Youngest, Education of 452 

Children 's Diseases 510 

Child's Confidence Held by Mother 464 

Pre-Natal Culture 343 

Purity, Safeguarding a 465 

Chill from Dampness 579 

in Fever, Dangerous 535, 536 

Chills and Fever 539 

Chin, Double 184 

Chloroform, Flooding from 400 

Eelaxation Better Than 400 

Choking 581 

Cholera, Asiatic 540, 548 

Asiatic, the Patient's Despair. . . .540 

Causes of 543 

Collapse in 540 

Infantum 511 

Preventive Treatment 542 

Simple 548 

Choosing a Mate 211 

Chorea , 530 

Christian Endeavor 483 

Chronic Diseases 61J 



INDEX 



631 



Page 
Cilia 281 

Circulation, Controlled by Nervous Sys- 
tem 525 

in Feet 166 

Restricted 163 

Circumcision 288 

Cleanliness Imperative 585 

Infant 's Training in 417 

Cleansing, Nature's Four Methods 109 

Clitoris, The 274 

Clothing for Elderly People 527 

on Fire 583 

Warmer after Fevers 538 

Coffee, Barley 609 

Corn 609 

Crust or Toast 609 

Giving Up 101 

Oat 609 

Rice 609 

Wheat 609 

Cold Baths Ill 

Sores on Lips 158 

Taking, in Fevers 536 

Colds 549 

Egg Gruel for 597 

Colic 549 

Intestinal 549 

of Infants 518 

Collars 201 

Colostrum is Healthful 427 

Comb. The 174 

Complements, Law of 218 

Complexion Affected by Nervous Sys- 
tem 148 

and Generative Organs 148 

Bath, Strawberry 144 

Blotches and Pimples 148 

Bran Bath for 113 

Brush 143 

Care of 141 

Cosmetic Jelly 147 

Cream 143 

Cream, Cucumber 145 

Cream from Berries 145 

Cream, Lettuce 145 

Eruptions 147 

Inflamed 150 

Moles 149 

Moth Patches ,..150 

Oily, Lotion for, .....147 

Paleness 148 

"Pits' > or "Pock Marks" 149 

Powder 142 

Redness 148 

Rough 143 

Rules for 142 

Scars 150 

Sunburn 146 



Page 
Conception 320 

After the Menses 336 

Bathing and Dress 329 

Conditions of 322 

Continence to Precede 329 

Diet Preceding 327 

Exercise Preceding 329 

in Drunkenness 341 

Initial Impressions 321 

in Summer Time 326 

Mental Preparation for 329 

Physical Training for 327 

Prayer Before .332 

Preceded by Self -Study. 327 

Prevention of .335 

Time of 325 

Training Morally for 331 

Cones 624 

Confidence, Mutual; Absolute..,. 263 

Confinement, Good Health after. ... 401 

Orange Whey after. 607 

Surgical Aid in 402 

the "Show" 405 

Congeniality Not Sufficient 230 

Congestion of the Uterus 492 

Constancy, Woman Requires 251 

Constipating Foods, Lists of, 103 

Constipation 549 

Diet for 102 

Fruit for 102 

in Convalescsnce ... . 539 

in Pregnancy 380 

of Children 519 

Consumption 551 

Breathing in 128, 129 

Consumptives, Baked Milk for. 600 

Contagious Diseases 533 

Diseases, Nurses in 589 

Diseases, Sick Room 589 

Controlling People 126 

Continence 289 

Based on Affection 317 

Diet for 317 

Gives Wife a Chance 394 

Hygiene for 317 

is Creative , . . . . 314 

Makes Strong Lives 314 

Male, Healthy 393 

Rewards of 314 

Contradiction, Perpetual 260 

Convalescence, Signs of 538 

Convalescents, Caution for 536 

Diet for 539 

Fruit Blanc Mange for 600 

Fruits for 539 

Convolutions of Brain 41 

Convulsions 512 

Infants \ Belladonna for 614 



632 



INDEX. 



Page 

Cooking Cereals 104 

Dried Fruit 104 

Meats 104 

Vegetables 104 

Cwjrperas for Disinfecting 590 

Cordials 447 

Cornmeal Gruel No. 1 595 

Gruel No. 2 596 

Gruel No. 3 596 

Mush 605 

Poultice 501, 537 

Poultice for Bronchitis 547 

Corns 167, 553 

Corpulence, Buttermilk for. . . . „ 607 

Corpulency 552 

Corsets, Mischiefs of 197, 199, 200, 201 

Mean Imprisonment 197 

Corset, Substitutes for 202 

Cosmetic Jelly 147 

Cosmoline for Lungs and Bowels 537 

Cough 553 

Whooping 512 

Coughs, Flaxseed Lemonade for 608 

Country, Welfare of 481 

Courtship, Early 230 

How Long? 235 

Cracked Hands 164 

Cracker Panada 604 

11 Cramming' ' in Schools 531 

Cramp 578 

Cramps 553 

in Pregnancy 381 

Creams and Custards 599 

Cream Toast 606 

Creative Principle, The 211 

Croup 513 

False 513 

Membranous 514 

Crust or Toast Coffee 609 

Crying of Infant 413 

Mothers Can Interpret 413 

Cucumbers, Milk of 146 

Curling Iron, Use of 174 

Custards and Creams 599 

Cuts 573 

Turpentine for 574 

Dandruff 177 

Dartos Muscle, The 285 

Dates 98 

Daughter-in-Law 263 

Deafness 554 

Decayed Teeth 182 

Decay Not a Law of Nature 474 

Decide When Alone 229 

Decision, Woman Admires 246 

Delayed Menses 497 

Depreciation of Self 54 

Depression, Cure for 137 



Page 

Designers, Women as 486 

Developing Limbs 193 

Diabetes 554 

Buttermilk for 607 

Diaphragm, Action of 125 

Diarrhoea 539, 555 

Boiled Milk for 594 

Boiled Rice for 605 

in Pregnancy 379 

of Children 519 

Rice Jelly for 598 

Diet after Fever 539 

a Wise . 95 

During Pregnancy 401 

for Bright 's Disease 546 

for Children 510 

for Continence 317 

for Skin Diseases 507 

for Vigorous Workers 106 

Infant's, after Weaning 442 

Milk, for Children 511 

of Invalids Important 594 

Slum, of Infants 435 

to Increase Flesh 105 

to Reduce Flesh 106 

Digestion Affected by Mind 476 

Dilutions 624 

Dining at Mid-day 106 

Diphtheria 515, 539 

Gargle for 539 

Directions for Using Remedies 624 

Dirt Produces Disease 585 

Discharges from the Ear 518 

Disease from Dirt 585 

from Self-Abuse 293 

of the Heart 560 

Remedies for 611 

Diseases, Acute 611 

Contagious 533 

Contagious, Nurses in 589 

Contagious, Sick Room 589 

Chronic 611 

General 544 

of Infants and Children 510 

of Skin 504 

of the Nose 565 

of Women 489 

Dishes for Invalids 594 

Dishwashing 161 

Disinfectants 590 

Disks (Cones) 624 

Remedies in 611 

Disposition, Building a New 83 

Rules for 83 

Distilled Water 593 

Diversion a Fine Medicine 434 

Doctors, Women as 487 

Dogs, Mad, Bites from 575, 576 



INDEX. 



63S 



Page 

Domestic Tastes in Man 250 

Doses of Eemedies 611 

Double Chin 184 

Drains 585 

Drama, The, Women in 486 

Draperies 589 

Dress 203 

after Fever 538 

Afternoon 204 

Colors 203 

Evening 205 

for Kitchen 204 

for Labor 407 

for Nursing 433 

Freedom in 196 

Increases Attractiveness 196 

Influence of 196 

Jenness Miller Maternity 206 

Maternity 206 

to be Comfortable 196 

Trained 203 

Dressing the Hair 176 

Drink, Between Meals 102 

for Harvesters 608 

Drinks, Iced 89 

Dropsy 555 

Drowning, Treatment for 580 

Drying the Baby after Bath 420 

the Hair 173 

Dying Woman's Demand, The 502 

Dysentery, Boiled Milk for 594 

Boiled Eice for 605 

Eice Jelly for 598 

Dyspepsia 556 

Buttermilk for 607 

Buttermilk Pop for 600 

from Wrong Weaning 435 

Nervous, Eaw Oysters for 602 

Dyspeptics, Pie for 610 

Earache 517, 554, 557 

Ear Bath 157 

Discharges from 518 

Foreign Bodies in 582 

Earl> Courtship 230 

Ears, Clogged 156 

Outstanding 157 

Earth-Cure Bath 116 

Economy 234 

Education Affected by Food 454 

Applies to Causes 453 

Early 452 

"Graded Gifts" 454 

in the Family 451 

Means at Hand 453 

Patriotic 459 

Sloyd System 454 

Widespread Agitation on 452 

Educational Walks 458 



Page 

Egg and Lemon Tonic 91 

and Eaisin Panada 604 

Gruel 597 

Lemonade 608 

Eipening of the Human 283 

Shampoo 178 

The Human 283 

Tonic 91 

Tonic No. 1 608 

Tonic No. 2 608 

Eggs 91 

Poached 602 

Poached in Milk 602 

Ejaculatory Duct, The 287 

Elasticity of Woman's Nature 55 

Electricity for Arms, Neck and Bust . . . 185 

Elixir, The True 393 

Eloquence, Transmitted 222 

Woman 's 68 

Woman's Love of 248 

Embryo, How Nourished 359 

Physical Comes First 347 

Progress of 361 

Emergencies, Accidents and 572 

Emotions Change Secretions 525 

Enema for Change of Life 470 

Enemas for Infant 421 

Entire Wheat 102 

Wheat Bread 606 

Epidemics 533 

Epididymus, The 287 

Epilepsy „ 557 

Epworth Leagues 483 

"Equestrian Tights" 202 

Erectness 131 

Errors of Love, Terrible 231 

Eruption in Fever 535, 536 

Eruptions, Treatment of 147 

Erysipelas 553, 557 

Escape from a Fire 583 

Evening Dress 205 

Excitement Poisons Mother's Milk 434 

Exercise for Double Chin. 184 

for Infant 422 

for Neck 185 

for Nursing Mothers 433 

of Brain 46 

Wasteful 51 

Exercises, Five Breathing 132 

for Slender Woman 187 

Expecting the Best 487 

Experiences with Ostine 447 

Expression Built by Thought 532 

Facial 151 

Extremes of Qualities in Offspring. ... .217 

Eyebrows 156 

Eye, Foreign Bodies in 582 

Eyelashes »......„..».,. 156 



634 



INDEX. 



Page 

Eyes, and the Love-Xature 152 

Brightened by Good Xews 526 

Discolored or "Black" 155 

Fascination of 152 

Lotions for 152 

Protect Infant's 425 

Protecting Patient 's 591 

Removing Objects from 156 

Eules for 155 

the Key to the Temperament. .. .152 

Face, Care of 141 

Covering in Small Pox 539 

Fainting 558 

in Pregnane v 381 

Falling of the Womb 490 

FaUopian Tubes, The 281 

Fall, Stunned by a 582 

False Croup 513 

Family Medicine Chest 612 

Farina Gruel 596 

Fascination and Love 228 

Hair a Factor in 169 

Fashion, Babies' Gowns 197 

High Heels 198 

Pull-back Skirts 198 

The Bustle 198 

Tight Sleeves 198 

Underwear 201 

Fashions, Hoop Skirts 197 

Low Xeck 197 

Fate, Xot Slaves of 61 

Father's Influence First in Time 321 

Father's Part in Pre-Xatal Culture 351 

Fatigue, the Breathing Cure for 133 

Fear Invites Cholera 543 

Overcoming 397 

Poisons Mother's Milk 434 

the Great Eobber 127 

Feathers 588 

Features Helped by Bath 10S 

Ideal, Described 77 

Feet and Hands 159 

and their Coverings 164 

Bathing the 166 

Burning and Smarting 166 

Chilblains 167 

Circulation of Blood 166 

Enlarged or Inflamed Joints 166 

Going Barefoot 166 

Sand Bath 166 

Felon 558 

Female Brain 42 

Love 228 

Reproductive Organs 272 

Fever, Bilious 545 

Chills and 539 

Hav 559 

Intermittent 539 

Malarial 533 



Page 
Fever — Continued. 

Milk 430 

Scarlet 515, 539 

Taking Cold in 535 

Typhoid 533 

Fevers 533 

Action of Yeratrum Yeride 536 

Avoid Sudden Cooling in 535 

Barley Gruel for 595 

Beef Tea Xot for 601 

Bran Gruel for 596 

Buttermilk for 607 

Classified 533 

Convalescence 536, 538 

Fruit Ices for 610 

Jelly and Ice for 599 

Xo Purgatives in 534 

Xo Solid Food in 536 

of Infants and Children 558 

Perspiration in 537 

Poultice for 537 

Relapses in 535, 536 

Successful Treatment 535 

Svmptoms of 533 

Theory of 534 

Fibrous Tumors of the Womb 494 

Fiction, Women Writers of 486 

Fig JeUy 599 

Figs 98 

Figure, Straightened by Good Xews. . . .526 

Finger Xails .' 164 

Fire, Escape from 583 

in Clothing 583 

Fireplace 586 

Fish as Food 90 

Stocking of Streams with 324 

Fits 512 

Flatulence in Pregnancy 376 

Flaxseed Lemonade 608 

Flesh, Diet to Increase 105 

Diet to Reduce 106 

Fleshy Person, Labor of 397 

Flooding from Chloroform 400 

Floors 587 

Flowers in Sick Room 591 

Foetus, Growth of 363 

Fomentation Cloths 570 

Foreign Safeguards in Love 231 

Foreskin, The 287 

Form, Helped by Bath 108 

Food a Factor in Education 454 

and Beauty 87 

Brain 604, 623 

Farinaceous 442 

for Infants 412 

for Xursing Mothers 433 

Heat Producers 87 

in Fevers, Withhold 536 

its Offices 87 



INDEX. 



635 



Page 

Food — Continued. 

Overeating Causes Eelapse 538 

Preparation of 593 

Unwise, Creates Appetites 454 

Foods, Carbonaceous 88 

Constipating, List of 103 

Laxative, List of 103 

Nitrogenous 88 

Phosphates 88 

Table of Nutrition 93 

their Values 87 

Foot Bath 110 

Nail Wounds in 574 

Force, Magnetic Wasted 587 

Nervous, Wasted 587 

Frances E. Willard 483-487 

Freckled Hands 163 

Freckle Lotions 144 

Freckles 143 

Freezing 579 

Fresh Air in Sick Eoom 590 

Froebel 29, 451 

Coming to Pestalozzi 458 

Tribute to 457 

Froebel's "Graded Gifts" 454 

Logical Teaching 452 

Theory Wide-Keaching 453 

Frost-Bites, Cure for 146 

Fruit, Acid Beverages 610 

Antidote for Drink Craving 97 

Blanc Mange 600 

for Biliousness 98 

for Breakfast 95 

for Constipation 102 

for Nursing Mothers 429 

Ice 610 

Eelishes 610 

the Ideal Food 94 

Fruits, Dried 104 

for Bright 's Disease 546 

for Invalids, with Care 595 

in Convalescence 539 

Fulmer, Harriet, on Visiting Nurses... 485 

Fumigation 591 

Functions of the Skin 109 

Furnaces 586 

Furnishings for Sick Eoom 590 

Furs 206 

Garbage 585 

Gall Stones 558 

Gargle for Diphtheria 539 

for Scarlet Fever 539 

Garters 201 

Gathered Breast 431, 499 

Gems, Graham and Oatmeal 606 

Gem Toast 607 

General Diseases 544 

Generation, Female Organs of 272 

Generative Functions Sacred 85 



Page 

Gentleness, Woman's 73 

Germ-Cells 56 

of Life, The 283 

The Male 288 

German Chamomile Tea 497 

"Gertrude" Suit for Infants 416 

Gestation, Beautiful Treatment in 414 

Table of 366 

The Wife's Privacy 394 

Girls, Care in Sitting 193 

Nervousness of 526 

Self -Abuse Wrecks 295 

Special Warning to 291 

to Keep Themselves Pure 295 

Glands of the Skin 109 

Glans, Penis, The 287 

Glass Nipple Shields 431 

Glibness is Suspicious 250 

Globules 624 

Glossary of Technical Terms 28 

Gloves for Housework 162 

Goitre 559 

Gout 559 

Government of Children 463 

Graceful Posture 194 

Walk 194 

Grace, How to Acquire 183 

Graham Cracker Panada 604 

Mush 604 

and Oatmeal Gems 606 

Grains 92 

Grandmothers, The Up-to-Date 484 

Granula 606 

Grate, Open 586 

Gravel 559 

Gray Hair 179 

"Gretchen" Suit for Infants 416 

Griddle Cakes 101 

"Grippe" 540 

Growing Taller 76 

Gruels 595 

at Close of Fevers 536 

Gum Water . . , 609 

Hair a Fascination 169 

Affected by Health 170 

Baldness 178 

Brushing a Tonic 175 

Care of 169 

Chalk Dust in 176 

Dead 174 

Dressing the 176 

Drying 173 

Egg Shampoo 178 

Gray 179 

Gray, Caused by Terror 526 

in Convalescence, The ; 538 

in Oriental Countries 169 

Eecords Any Shock 179 

Einsing 173 



636 



INDEX. 



Page 
Hair — Continued. 

Shampooing 170 

Splitting 174 

the, at Night 175 

the Curling Iron 174 

"Waking Up," the 177 

Hands and Feet 159 

Chapped 163 

Conic Type 160 

Cracked 164 

Dishwashing 161 

Freckled 163 

Gloves for 162 

Lotion for 163 

Pointed Type 161 

Eed 163 

Square Type 160 

Spatula 160 

Stained 162 

Types of 160 

Very Dirty Work 164 

Happiness a Breath Tonic 123 

Adaptations for 215 

Harmony in Eace for Marriage 217 

in Eeligion for Marriage 217 

Harvesters, Oatmeal Tea for 608 

Hatred Deforms Beauty 80 

Hats 206 

Hay Fever 559 

Headache 560 

in Pregnancy 377 

Nervous, Poached Eggs for 602 

Healthfulness of Clostrum 427 

Health in Tenements 485 

is "Catching" 480 

Mental Laws of 473 

of Infant, How Seen 



425 

Preserved by Mind 475 

Eequired for Woman's Best 489 

Struggle Back to 503 

Teaching Needed 489 

Heart, Beginning of 362 

Diseases of the , 560 

Foetal, Beating 359 

Influenced by Solar Plexus 525 

Palpitation in Pregnancy 381 

Palpitation of 560 

Rudiments of 361 

Heartburn, in Pregnancy 376 

Heath, Mr., on Self -Abuse 317 

Heating 586 

Hemorrhoids 566 

Hens Laying Eggs 395 

Heredity, Its Influences 321 

Mental Force Overcomes 331 

Overcoming 322 

Hip Disease 561 

Hips, Delsarte Exercise for 191 

to Reduce . . . . * . . . „ <> . . . „ . .... . .194 



Page 
History, Women in 482 

Home Atmosphere, The 481 

Establishing the 252 

Ethics, Teaching 482 

Hygiene in the 585 

Interests Supreme With Woman. .486 

Lovers Planning 232 

to Include Loving Courtesies. .. .253 
Treatment for Women's Ills.... 489 

Well-Kept 585 

Honeymoon, a Second 327 

Courtesies 239 

Disillusionment 238 

for the Intellect 237 

Freedom from Care 237 

Husband's Duties in 238 

Journey 238 

Kindness 239 

Lifelong, Conditions of 239 

The 237 

The Bible 237 

Why It Wanes 587 

Hoarseness 561 

Homeopathic Eemedies, Success of 503 

Eemedies 611 

Honesty, Pre-Natal Culture 348 

Hope, Message of 290, 317 

Horlick's Malted Milk 442 

Horticulture, Women in 486 

Hot Bath Ill 

Bread 101 

Housekeeping Learned after Marriage. .256 

Learned before Marriage 256 

Mutual Help in 257 

Housewife 's Ambition, The 585 

Housework a Fine Medicine 434 

and Tenement Inspection 484 

for Mothers 433 

to Develop Grace 194 

Human "Stock" Valuable 392 

Sun, The 53 

Humility, Power of 249 

Humor, Pre-Natal Culture 349 

Hunger after Fever 538 

Husband, Help a Nursing Wife 434 

not to become Repulsive 239 

Thoughtful of Bride 's Loneliness . 253 

Duties in Honeymoon 238 

Tenderness in Pregnancy 389 

to Assist Wives 392 

Hygiene in the Home 585 

Hypochondria 530 

Hysteria, Treatment of 529 

Hymen, Perforation of 301 

The, 276 

Ice-Box, Cleanliness of 585 

Iced Drinks 89 

Fruit 610 

Ignorance Entraps to Euin. ........... .461 



INDEX. 



637 



Illusions 45 

Imbecility 51 

Increasing Flesh, Diet for 105 

Indians ' Painless Childbirth 391 

Indigestion 556 

Tnfant, Cold Water for 421 

Enemas for 421 

Exercise for 422 

Great Essentials for 426 

Learning to Walk 423 

Method of Weaning 439 

Not to be Jolted 414 

Not to be Kocked 414 

Nursing Begularly 432 

Only Medication Through Mother.,412 

Powder for 420 

Protect Eyes of 425 

Pure Air for 424 

Quickly Dressed 416 

Beautiful Poem on 411 

Infants, Air Bed-Clothing of 424 

Bathing 419 

Chafing 421 

Clothes, Shortening of 418 

Clothing, Changes in 419 

Clothing Loose 415 

Colic of 518 

Crying 413 

Dietary 442 

Diseases 510 

Face, Interpretation of 425 

Farinaceous Foods for 442 

First Artificial Diet 439 

First Nursing 427 

First Toilet 416 

First Travels 422 

Food 412 

Foot Coverings 417 

Freedom to Kick 422 

Gradual Weaning 436 

Horlick's Malted Milk for 442 

"Hungry Ball" 413 

Keeping Healthy 510 

Long Skirts 415 

Mellin's Food for 442 

Milk Best for 442, 444 

Mortality in Teething 445 

Mortality of 435 

Need Warmth 415 

Nightclothing 418 

Nose Obstructed 425 

Not to Have Purgatives 412 

Olive Oil Massage 413 

Soothed by Massage or Eubbing.413 

Opiates Fatal to 447 

Ostine for 442 

Refusal of Breast 430 

Rest, Not Excitement 423 

Bestlessness of ,424 

37 V. 



Page 
Infants — Continued. 

Slum Diet of 435 

Sore Mouth 429 

Stomach Trouble 445 

Training in Cleanliness 417 

Two Kinds of Dirt 419 

Water for 444 

Wraps 418 

the First Nap 427 

to Have Water 428 

Tongue-Tied 430 

Weaning the 435 

Wet Nurse for 436 

When to Bathe.... 421 

With a Fair Start 414 

Inflammation, Beef Tea Not for 601 

Bran Gruel for 596 

Egg Lemonade for 608 

Fruit Ices for 610 

Gastric, Barley Gruel for 595 

Gum Water for 609 

of the Bladder 561 

of the Bowels 561 

of the Breasts 562 

of the Brain 562 

of the Liver 563 

of the Throat 563 

of the Uterus 491 

Slippery Elm Tea for 609 

Ingrowing Nails 164 

Insanity 51 

Insects, Stings of 574 

Insomnia 44 

Lemons for 97 

Treatment of 529 

Integrity Eequired for Marriage 222 

Intestinal Colic 549 

Intestines, Nettle Eash from 508 

Intuitions a Guide 399 

Woman 's 44 

Intuition the Highest Teacher .230 

Invalids, Alcoholics Bad for 607 

Beverages for 607 

Dishes for 594 

Investors, Women as 487 

Inventors, Women as 487 

Irish Moss Lemonade 609 

Jelly 599 

Iron in Blood 125 

Isolation for Sick Eoom 589 

Itch ; or Scabies 508 

Ivy, Poison 576 

Jaundice 563 

Jellies 597 

Jelly and Ice 599 

Kidneys, Bright 's Disease of 545 

Kindergarten Principles 457 

Training 412 

Kiss, the Forgotten .252 



638 



INDEX. 



Page 

Knowledge Not a Crime.... 461 

Labor after Abortion 398 

Pains, False 386 

Premature 338 

Signs of 404 

Without Aid 399 

Labia Majora 273 

Minora 273 

Lacerations 573 

La Grippe , 540 

Landscape Gardening for Women 486 

Large Feet 167 

Lawyers, Women as 487 

Laxative Foods, List of 103 

Leadership, Pre-Natal Culture 349 

Leanness 563 

Legs, Swollen, in Pregnancy 379 

Lemonade -. 96 

Egg 608 

Flaxseed 608 

Irish Moss 609 

for Nursing Mothers 429 

Lemon and Egg Tonic 529 

Jelly 597 

Jelly No. 2 597 

Lemons for Insomnia 97 

Letter Writing 221 

Leucorrhea in Pregnancv 385 

or "Whites" 498 

Liberty is Woman 481 

Life, AIL from a Seed 56 

Beginnings 56 

Centers 39 

Depends on Knowledge 500 

from a Seed or Egg 291 

Germ, The 283 

Growth of 292 

Life's Central Fact, Love 227 

Three Beginnings 320 

Work of Woman 57 

"Lifters" and "Leaners" 53 

Limbs, Rudiments of 362 

Tapering 63 

to Develop 193 

Lime in Food and Drink 89 

Sleeping Eooms 586 

Limitation, Duty of 336 

Not Unnatural 340 

of Offspring 335 

Through Control 339 

Lincoln's Large Feet 168 

Lips, Cold Sores 158 

Color of 158 

Show Circulation 158 

Show Digestion 158 

Liquids, Remedies in 611 

Literary Standard, High 294 

Literature, Women in 486 

Liver, Inflammation of , 563 



Page 

Liver, Rudiments of 362 

Lobules, The 286 

Lockjaw 574 

Longings in Pregnancy 383 

Lotion for Hands 163 

for Oily Skin 147 

Lotions 142 

for the Eyes 152 

Love and be Lovable 229 

and Fascination 228 

a Wonderful Teacher 254 

Blesses Its Object 242 

Counsel Withheld 227 

Courtesies of 230 

Destroyed by Scoldings 254 

Eloquence and Ardency of 248 

Faculty in Head 52 

Female 228 

Frequent Declarations 229 

Growth after Marriage 265 

How to Redouble 241 

is Natural 224 

Keep Spiritual Uppermost 226 

Life's Central Fact 227 

Made a Jest 227 

Male 228 

More than Congeniality 230 

Nature, Woman's 44 

of Children, Why? 292 

Physical 228 

Planning the Home 232 

Poem 228 

Poetry Deprived of 224 

Preserved by Purity 266 

Requires Expression 229 

Restores Beauty 80 

Seeks to Make Happy 242 

Spiritual 228 

Terrible Errors of 231 

Tested by Separation 229 

the Basis of Continence 317 

to be Tenderly Expressed 239 

Lover, His Noble Course 340 

the Fainthearted 250 

Love 's Happy Plans 232 

Misunderstandings 241 

Mutual Duties 241 

Quarrels, Avoid 232 

Rule of Proportion 241 

Unselfishness 242 

Loving Courtesies at Basis of Home. . . .253 

Lunch ; Fruit for Children's 510 

Sweets for Children's 510 

Lung, Membrane, 20,000 Inches 125 

Pores Closed by Stooping 127 

Starvation Unnecessary 122 

Lungs, Bleeding from 545 

Cosmoline Dressing for 537 

Mechanism of 124 



INDEX. 



639 



Page 
Lungs — Continued. 

Kash in 536 

Kudiments of 362 

Macaroni Soup 603 

Mad-Dog Bites, Caustic for 575 

Mad-Dogs, Bites from 575, 576 

Magazines, Women on 486 

Magnetic Attraction 229 

Magnetic "Aura," The 192 

Force 125 

Force Wasted 587 

Magnetism from Correct Breathing. .. .126 

How Acquired 73 

Malarial Fever 533 

Male Brain 42 

Continence Healthy 393 

Love 228 

Eeproductive Organs 285 

Seed or Germ 288 

Mammary Glands 284 

Manhood, Stronger by Absorption 314 

Why Admired 251 

Manly Decision, Admired by Woman.. 246 

Ease Admired by Women 247 

Self-Eespect 247 

Shyness 248 

Man Builds His Temple 531 

Not at Mercy of His Passions. .289 

Not to Criticise Wife 254 

Man's Appreciation to be Expressed. . . .247 

Constancy Eequired 251 

Deference to Woman 246 

Domestic Tastes 250 

Eloquence and Ardency 248 

Glibness Suspicious 250 

Humility, Power of 249 

Ideal of Woman 62 

Eeserve Power 246 

Sincerity Admired by Woman. . . .246 

Strength ^ . . 44 

Wise Choice in Marriage 218 

the Manly 251 

Thoughtful of Wife's Cares 258 

to Confide Business to Wife 257 

Woman 's Ideal of 245 

Marasmus 551 

Mare, Foaling 395 

Marriage, Age for 303 

Chamber, The 238 

Clear Brain for 221 

Continence in 317 

Decide When Alone 229 

Demands Integrity 222 

Dismisses Follies 233 

Early, Why Unwise 302 

Exercise to Prepare for 221 

Great Change for Woman 253 

Hope in Uncongenial 267 

Hope through Intuitions 223 



Page 
Marriage — Continued. 

Household Training for 221 

How to Increase Love 265 

Ignorant, Eisks in 461 

is Natural 224 

Its Prosaic Questions 253 

Man's Wise Choice in 218 

of Cousins 222 

Qualifications for 219 

Quarrels 241 

Reasoning Powers for 222 

Separate Home for 263 

the Hope of the Eace 252 

Tropical Child- Wives 304 

Unhappy, Blame Mutual 259 

Unhappy Through Meddlers. .240, 255 

What It Involves 252 

When 235 

Woman's Wise Choice in 219 

Marrying a Sickly Girl 220 

for Money 233 

to Eeform Men 220 

Massage for Arms 186 

for Falling of the Womb 491 

for Neck 185 

for Slender Woman 187 

for Weak or Inactive Parts 538 

Invigorates Infants 414 

Soothes Infants 413 

Massaging Scalp 174 177 

Mastery, No Struggle for .'.256 

Materia Medica 611 

Maternity, Beauty Promises 62 

Demands Vitality 63 

Dress 206 

Not a Curse 391 

Mating of Male and Female 211 

Mattresses 588 

Measles 521,"539 

Meat 89 

Meats, Cooking 104 

Soups and Broths 600 

Mechanical Ingenuity Transmitted 331 

Meddlers Cause Unhappy Marriages, 240,255 

Medical Terms, Glossary 28 

Medicated Bath 113 

Medication Only Through Mother 412 

Medicine Chest, The 612 

Medicines and Eemedies 611 

Melendy, Dr. Mary E 29 

Mellin 's Food 442 

Membranous Croup 514 

Memory, How Weakened 293 

Transmitted 331 

Men, Change of Life, Continence in 472 

Men, Change of Life in 472 

Change of Life, Symptoms 472 

Happiness of at Stake 452 

How Made Strong 292 



640 



INDEX. 



Page 

Meningitis 562 

Menses Delayed 497 

Painful 497 

Profuse 497 

Should Stop Nursing 436 

Suppressed 498 

Menstruation 300 

a Sign of Womanhood 300 

at Five Months Age 305 

End of 469 

Hygienic Precautions for 306 

Ignorant Alarm at 301 

in Cold Climate 304 

Initiation of 304 

in Temperate Climates 304 

in Tropical Climates 304 

Life-term of 308 

None During Pregnancy 302 

Eegular 307 

Simple and Natural \ .. .302 

Suspending School Life 306 

Usually Painful 303 

Mental Condition Determines Physical. .526 

Discipline in Pregnancy 415 

Distress in Pregnancy 339 

Force Stronger than Heredity. . .331 

Influenced by Genetic 462 

Law for Health 532 

Laws of Beauty 473 

Laws of Health 473 

Occupation Relieves Menses. . . .303 

Preparation for Conception 329 

Eelated to Sexual 289 

Sex Differences 57 

Sources of Dyspepsia 556 

Temperament Nervous 525 

Therapeutics, Principles of 626 

Treatment 626 

Treatment for Falling Womb 491 

Treatment for Self -Abuse 318 

Treatment Illustrated 526 

Treatment of Solar Plexus 54 

Treatment, Power of 525 

Mentality of Sex 374 

Midwife ; A, at Seventeen 395 

Milk 90 

Always Best for Infants 442, 444 

Anger Poisons Mother's 526 

Baked 599 

Boiled 91 

Boiled, for Invalids 594 

Crust 507 

Diet for Children 511 

Fever 430 

for Invalids 594 

Fright Poisons Mother's 526 

Hot 90 

Hot, a Superior Stimulant 607 

Mother's, How Poisoned 434 



Page 

Milk — Continued. 

Mother's, Hurt by Worry 434 

Porridge 597 

Tapioca 609 

Mind a Magnet, The 479 

Conscious 526, 528 

Effective Demands of 475 

Power of The 525 

Power Over Health and Beauty.. 475 

Pre-Natal Culture 349 

Subconscious 526, 528 

to be Kept Healthy 294 

Mineral Eemedies 611 

"Miracles" 480 

Miscarriage 368, 498" 

Causes of 368 

Prevention of 372 

Symptoms of 371 

Treatment after 372 

Treatment of 371 

Mistakes in Marriage, Hope for 267 

Modern Proportions of Woman 75 

Moles and Warts 149 

Money, Marrying for 233 

Monogamy Nature's Design 214 

Mons Veneris, The 273 

Moral Faculties — Training for Concep- 
tion 331 

Influenced by Genetic 462 

Morals, Pre-Natal Culture 350 

' ( Morning Sickness " 375 

Mother, All Should Help 434 

and Teacher, Woman is 487 

Artist, The 343 

Ask Questions of 291 

Bedtime Talk of 467 

Care after Labor 409 

Controls Child's Destiny 344 

Expectant, to Keep Cheerful 349 

Health Eequires Weaning 436 

Joy of Helping 296 

Keeps the Open Heart-Way 488 

Kind to Faults Not Wilful 463 

Lofty Ideas of 346 

Loving Child at Beginning 346 

Nervous, Advice to 528 

Not to be Kept "at Bay" 466 

Eecreation of 434 

Motherhood 320 

a Holy Power 391 

Joy of 346 

Saxe Holmes' Story 345 

The Outreaching 483 

Mother-in-Law ,. 263 

Mothers, Expectant, Cheer for 395 

Fruit for 429 

Mother's, Glass Nipple Shields 431 

Govern Through Feelings 463 

Greek, Artistic Surroundings 347 



INDEX. 



641 



Mother 's — Continued. 

"Help a Lot" 467 

Housework for 433 

Ideal, The 344 

Influence Begins Early 347 

Inspiring the Young 484 

Interpret Cries 413 

Invite Child's Confidence 464 

Italian, Study the Madonna 347 

"Know More than Boys" 465 

Lemonade for 429 

Mentality and Spiritually 483 

Milk Fever 430 

Molding Power 344 

Need to be Educated 451 

Never Punish in Anger 463 

Never to be Hasty 463 

Nursing Dress 433 

Nursing ; Exercise 433 

Nursing, Fatigued 434 

Nursing, Food for 433 

Nursing, New Milk for 594 

Nursing, Nutrina for 598 

"Sparrows or Wrens?" 467 

Pre-Natal Culture Shown 353 

Questions, The 411 

"Quiet Hour" 350 

Eead the Best 349 

Sore Mouth 428 

Study Child's Motives 464 

Thirst in Weaning 440 

Thought Affects Child 528 

Train by Example 464 

Trained Will of 348 

Train Through Love 463 

The Adopted 465 

the Child's Guardian 462 

the Incompetent 343 

The, to be Undisturbed 409 

Think Independently 349 

Moth Patches 150 

Motive Organization 216 

Temperaments United 216 

Mountain Travelers 132 

Mourning Garb 527 

Mouth, Cankered 511 

Catarrhal Sore 429 

Infant's, Sore 429 

Sore, Mother's 428 

Wash 181 

Mumps 516 

Mushes 604 

Music Lesson Transformed 526 

Pre-Natal Culture 348 

Women in 486 

Muscular Women 63 

Mutton Broth 601 

Nails, Finger 164 

Nail Wounds in Foot 574 



Page 

Nature's Law of Selection 246 

"Nature Study" 458 

Nausea 564 

Neck, Breathing for 185 

Electricity for 185 

Massage 185 

Neglect, What to 585 

Which Meant Death 502 

Nephritis, Acute 564 

Chronic 545 

Nerve-Cells, Brain 41 

Nutritive, Nutrina for 598 

Nerves, Child's Deranged by Fright 527 

Controlled by Suggestion 526 

Eelation with Brain 526 

Nervousness 45, 563 

Nervous Debility, Treatment of 528 

Excitement 293 

Exhaustion 293 

Force Wasted 587 

Nervousness from Teething 530 

in Pregnancy 531 

of Girls 526 

Treatment of 529 

Nervous People, Bath for ...114 

Temperaments United , . .216 

System, Scope of „ . .525 

Systems, Sympathetic . * . 40 

Troubles 525 

Troubles, Mental Tendency of... 525 

Troubles, Origin of 525 

Troubles, Eemedies for 530 

Troubles, Treatment for 528 

Nettle Eash 508 

Neuralgia in Pregnancy 378 

Treatment of 528 

Newspapers, Women on 486 

Writing Dignified 486 

Night Clothing 202 

Nipples, Hardening the 384 

Eetracted 431 

Nipple Shields, Glass 431 

Sore 430 

The 285 

Norway Prudent in Parentage 336 

Nose Bath 158 

Bleeding from 545 

Diseases of 565 

Enlarged Pores 158 

Infant 's, Obstructed 425 

Nosebleed 574 

Nurse, A Sleepy 502 

Nurses in Contagious Diseases 589 

Visiting 458 

Nursing 427 

Anger Poisons Milk 526 

Baby, the First 427 

Dress for 433 

Fright Poisons Milk 526 



642 



INDEX. 



Page 
Nursing — Continued. 

Improper During Pregnancy 337 

Infant's Eefusal 430 

Mothers, Egg Tonic for 608 

Mother 's Exercise 433 

Mother's Inability for 441 

Mothers, Nutrina for 598 

Mothers, Oysters for 602 

Mothers, "Warm Milk for 594 

No Check to Conception 337 

Only When Calm 434 

Eegular 432 

Stopped by Menses 436 

When to Withhold 434 

Nutrina 598 

Nutrition Controlled by Nervous System.525 

Nuts 92 

Nux Vomica's High Bank as Tonic... 548 

Oak, Poisoned by 576 

Oatmeal Gruel No. 2 596 

Mush 604 

Tea 608 

Occupation Needed by the Tempted. .. .290 

Odors, Offensive 586 

Offspring, Deformed and Sickly 219 

Extremes in 217 

Limitation of 335 

Well-balanced 214 

Oil Bath 114 

Oil for Infant 407 

Oilcloth Aurons 204 

Open Air Life 139 

Opiates Fatal to Infants 447 

for Infants Condemned 424 

Opposites, Law of 216 

Orange Whey 607 

Organs of Eeproduction 55 

Oriental Sun Bath 116 

Ostine > 442 

Experiences with 447 

for Convulsions 513 

for Teeth 182 

for Teething Sickness 446 

No. 1 623 

No. 2 624 

Outdoor Games 140 

Outer Garments 205 

Ovaries, The 282 

Overstudy at School 531 

Ovum, The 283 

Oxygen Consumed by Stoves 586 

Indispensable 124 

Its Affinity for Iron 125 

Oysters. Eaw and Broiled 602 

Oyster 'Toast 607 

Toasted 602 

Painful Menses 497 

Paleness 148 

Palmetto Balm, Capsules 624 



Page 

Palmistry a Science 159 

Palpitation of the Heart 560 

of the Heart; Pregnancy 381 

Panadas 603 

Paralysis of the Bladder 566 

Parental Duties in Advising 233 

Warnings .234 

Parenthood Greatest of Blessings 335 

Prudent 335 

Parents, Be First Teachers 460 

Children are Like 321 

Passions Controlled by High Thinking 

290, 317 

Hope for All 290, 317 

Occupation Gives Eule Over.... 290 

Paste for Teeth 180 

Pastry 101 

Patriotic Education 459 

Pea Soup 603 

Pellets, Dose of 624 

(Globules) 624 

Pelvis, Ample Size 63 

Female, The 271 

Healthy 193 

Male, The 271 

The 287 

Peritonitis 566 

Corn Meal Poultice for 501 

Simple Treatment of 500 

Treatment of 500 

Perspiration 109 

Angry, Contains Poison 525 

Excessive 566 

in Cholera 542 

in Fevers 537 

Not Weakening 406 

Pestalozzi 29, 457 

Phthisis 551 

Physical, Influenced by Genetic 462 

Love 228 

Sex Differences 57 

Physics to be Avoided 539 

Pie for Dvspeptics 610 

Pike's Peak Party, The 132 

Piles 566 

in Pregnancy 380 

Pills, Preparations in 611 

Pimples 148 

"Pinfeathers of Love" 249 

Pins, Swallowed 581 

"Pit of Stomach," Sinking at 54 

"Pits" or "Pock Marks" 149 

Placenta, Delivery of 408 

The 360 

Plasters for Peritonitis r 503 

"Playing House" 481 

Plexus, Cardiac 52 

The Solar 53 

Plunge Bath 110 



INDEX. 



643 



Page 

Pneumonia, 567 

from Fashion 197 

Poached Eggs 602 

"Pock Marks" 149 

Poem, Love 228 

Poetry Deprived of Love 224 

Poisoned by Ivy, Oak or Sumac 576 

Poison in Angry Perspiration 525 

Ivy 576. 

Poisoning, Internal 578 

Police Matrons 484 

Polypus of the Womb 495 

Porridge, Milk 597 

Poultice, Corn Meal 501, 537 

Cornmeal, for Bronchitis 547 

Poultices for Boils 504 

of Comfort 501 

Which Lasts, A 501 

Powder for Infant 420 

for Teeth 180 

Powders, Eemedies in 611 

Power of Mind, The 525 

Eeserve, Woman Admires 246 

Praise, between Wife and Husband 254 

Woman Values 247 

Prayer before Conception 332 

Preachers, Women as 487 

Pregnancy, Abdomen Troubles in 378 

at Sixty Years 304 

Buttermilk Pop for 600 

Constipation in 380 

Cramps in 381 

Deep Breathing in 402 

Diarrhea in 379 

Diet During 401 

Discomforts of 375 

Excessive Appetite in 383 

Fainting in 381 

False Pains in 386 

Flatulence in .376 

Fruit Blanc Mange in 600 

Good Cheer for 395 

Headache in 377 

Heartburn in 376 

Husband's Help in 392 

Husband's Tenderness in 389 

Irritated Bladder in 384 

Key to Happy Motherhood 390 

Lack of Appetite 382 

Leucorrhea or "Whites" in 385 

Limiting Food in 402 

Longings in 383 

Mental Discipline in 415 

Mental Distress in 389 

Menses Cease During 302 

Miscarriage 368 

' ' Morning Sickness " in 375 

Naturally Healthful 375 

Nervousness in 531 



Page 
Pregnancy — Continued. 

Neuralgia in 378 

Palpitation of Heart in 381 

Piles in 380 

Pruritis in 385 

Eaw Oysters for 602 

Sick Headache in 377 

Signs of 355 

Sleeplessness in 382 

Swollen Breasts in 384 

Sympathy in 389 

The Nipples in 384 

Thrush in 385 

Toothache in 378 

Water-Brash in 377 

Water During 402 

Words of Hope in 390 

Pre-Natal Culture 343, 414 

Culture,. Father 's Part 351 

Culture Illustrated 353 

Prepuce^ The 287 

Prevention Not Destruction 338 

Preventions of Conception 335 

Probation Officers, Women as 484 

Professional Women 486 

Profuse Menses 497 

Progress in Switzerland 457 

Prostate Gland, Men's, in Age 472 

Gland, The 287 

Pruritis in Pregnancy 385 

Puberty, Changes at 212, 300 

Public Life, Problems of 482 

Pulmonary Consumption 551 

Pulse, Beats per Minute 624 

Punishment, Not to be Hasty 463 

Pure Water 592 

Purgatives in Fevers 534, 539 

Not for Infants ..412 

Strong, Dangerous 534 

Purity in Training 462 

Preservative of Love 266 

Quarrels Deplored 254 

Quarrel, Settlement of 255 

"Quickening" Shows Pregnancy 357 

Quiet for Infants 423 

"Quiet Hour," The Mother's 350 

Quinsy 569 

Eemedies, Crude or Coarse 611 

Eash in Lungs and Bowels 536 

Nettle 507 

Eattlesnake Bites 575 

Eeaction from Bath 110 

Eeason, Cultivate, for Marriage 222 

Eecreation a Fine Eemedy 434 

Importance of 258 

Eed Face, Plain Diet for 98 

Eedness of Complexion 148 

Reducing Flesh, Diet for 106 

Hips 194 



644 



INDEX. 



Page 

Eef rigerators 585 

Kelaxation 133 

Natural 400 

Superior to Anodynes 400 

Eeligion, Pre-Natal Culture 350 

Eeligious Conversions at Puberty 214 

Kemedies for Nervous Troubles 530 

Frequency of Dose 611, 624 

How to Use 624 

List of, Materia Mediea 611 

Mild, yet Powerful 611 

Kefmed, Points of 611 

Strength of v . 611 

Where Procured 624 

Eepose a Fine Eemedy 434 

Eeproduction, Female Organs of 272 

Eeproductive Organs, Male 285 

Organs 55, 269 

Eeserve ; Woman 's 73 

Eespiration, Controlled by Nervous Sys- 
tem 525 

Eestlessness, Infant's - .424 

Eete Testis, The 286 

Eetroversion of the Womb 493 

Eheumatism, Acute 567 

Irish Moss Jelly for 599 

Ehubarb Toast 607 

Eice, Boiled 605 

Browned 605 

Gruel 596 

Jelly 598 

Eound Shoulders 151 

Shoulders, Swimming for 188 

Eubbing Soothes Infant 413 

Bugs 589 

Euined Lives 231 

Euts, to be Avoided 52 

Eye Mush 604 

Eythmical Breathing 130 

Sacredness of the Body 461 

Saddle ; Importance of Correct 193 

Safeguards, Foreign, in Love 231 

Sago Cranberry Jelly 599 

Jelly 598 

Saint Vitus Dance 530 

Salt Bath, In-door 112 

in Bag, for Heating 381 

Sand Bath for Feet 166 

for Children 's Play ' 510 

Sanguine Temperaments, United 216 

Saxe Holme's Story 345 

Scabies, or Itch 508 

Scalp, Dandruff 177 

Massaging 174, 177 

Milk Crust on 507 

Scarlet Fever 515 

Fever, Gargle for 539 

Scarlatina 539 

Scars, To Eemove .150 



Page 

School, Pigeons Living in the 459 

Schools, Overstudy in 53] 

Science, Domestic 221 

the Friend of Love 215 

Scolding, Habitual, Fatal to Love 254 

Scrotum, The 286 

Sculpture, Women in 486 

Scurvy 568 

Sea Bathing 112 

Sea Sickness 568 

Seed, All Life from a ._. 56 

The Male 288 

Selection, Nature's Law of 246 

Self-Abuse 293 

Attaining Your Ideals 319 

Becoming Kingly Over 319 

Brings Disease 293 

Confide in Parents 293 

Girls Cannot Afford 295 

High Thoughts Possible 318 

Hope for All 290, 317 

How to Leave Behind 317 

Invites Cholera 543 

Line of Least Eesistance 319 

Mental Treatment 318 

Need Not Involve Struggle 318 

Never Despair 318 

Perseverance Will ,Cure 293 

Weakens Memory 293 

Self -Depreciation, No 54 

Self-Eespect Attracts Woman 247 

of Young Conquerors 294 

Semen, The 288 

Seminal Fluid, The 288 

Sentiment in Woman 44 

Separation the Test of Love 229 

Separate Beds for Couples 340 

Beds, Why 587 

Serpents, Bites from 575 

Sex- Attribute Attractions of 213 

Effect on Character 212 

Functions of 212 

Sex Desire, How to Promote 313 

Determining, in Generation 373 

Differences, Mental 57 

Differences, Physical 57 

Element, the Creative Principle .. 211 

Health Makes Beauty 84 

How Caused 373 

is Mental 374 

Magnetism, Secret of 126 

Nature Largely Mental 85 

Organs, Eudiments of 362 

Eelations, at Call of Woman 312 

Eelations, Harmonious 309 

Eelations, Never During Preg- 
nancy 313 

Eelations, Never While Inflamed. 314 
Eelations, Normal, are Uplifting. .310 



INDEX. 



645 



Page 

Sex — Continued. 

Kelations of Animals 310 

Eelations on Spiritual Plane 310 

Eelations Should be Mutual 311 

Eelations, Time for 312 

Sexual Embraces Only When Vigorous. .312 

Embrace, The 309 

Excesses Bring Puny Children. . .310 

Excesses Impair Health 310 

Excesses in Early Marriage 310 

Organs Sacred 295 

Organs, to Grow Strong 296 

Organs, Wrong Use of 292 

Vigor Transmits Strength 325 

Shampoo, Egg 178 

Shampooing the Hair 170 

Sheets, Damp 589 

Shields, Glass Nipple 431 

Shirt Waists 203 

Shoes, ' ' Common Sense ' ' 198 

Short Women 63 

Shyness, a Proof of Love 248 

Extreme 84 

Sick Headache 101 

Headache in Pregnancy 377 

Eoom Bedding 590 

Flowers in 591 

Fresh Air in 590 

Furnishings of 590 

in Contagious Diseases 589 

Isolated 589 

Non-Contagious 591 

Sweeping 592 

Ventilated and Sunny 535 

" Silent School-Master, The" 525 

Similarity, Law of 217 

Sincerity, Woman Demands 246 

Single Women 483 

Sinks 585 

Sitz Bath 119 

Skin Diseases 504 

Texture 109 

The, and its Functions 108 

Whitening the 162 

Wrinkles 150 

Slaves of Fate, Not 61 

Sleep, Infant's First 427 

Sleeping Face of Child Interpreted. .. .425 

Booms 123 

Booms, Charcoal in 586 

Sleep, Bestful, from Bath 113 

Sleeplessness 44 

in Pregnancy 382 

Treatment of 529 

Slender Woman's Treatment 187 

Slippery Elm Tea 609 

Small-Pox 539 

Covering for Face 539 

Snakebites 575 



Page 
Snow Balls 600 

Sociability, Pre-Natal Culture 348 

Social Settlements 485 

Society Women 486 

Softening of the Brain 568 

Soft Water to be Used 107 

Solitude, for Marriage Decision 229 

Solar Plexus, How to Develop 54 

Mental Treatment 54 

Strong 54 

The, 53 

The Nerve Center 525 

the Personality 126 

Treatment of 525 

Son-in-Law , 263 

Soothing Syrups 447 

Sore Nipples 430 

Sore Throat 569 

Soul-Culture 68 

Soul-Power 68 

Pre-Natal Culture 350 

Soups 603 

Meats and Broths 600 

Spasms 512 

Spectacles, Blue 155 

Spermatic Cords, The 285 

Spermatozoa, Liberation of 322 

Path to Impregnation 323 

Sperm-Cells 322 

Spine, Eudiments of 361 

Spirits Depressed by Black 527 

Spiritual Love 228 

Splinter, To Extract a 572 

Sponge Bath 110 

Sprains 576 

Sprightliness 65 

Squaws in Childbirth ...391 

Stimulant, Egg Tonic. 608 

Stimulants After Fever Injurious 538 

Avoid, in Bright 's Disease 546 

Stimulus from Association 214 

Stings of Insects 574 

Stomach, Bleeding from 545 

Influenced by Solar Plexus 525 

Stooping Caused by " Hurry Thoughts' '.478 

Exercise for 188 

How to Check 188 

Story, Saxe Holmes ' 345 

Stout Women 63 

Stoves Consume Oxygen 586 

Strawberries for Breakfast 96 

Strergth Attracted by Beauty 246 

Man 's . 44 

of Bemedies 611 

Study, Independent at First 532 

Stunned from a Fall 582 

Suggestion, Auto, Power of 626 

Illustrated 526 

of Black Garments 527 



646 



INDEX. 



Page 

Sulphur for Disinfecting 590 

for Fumigation 591 

for Itch 509 

Sumac, Poisoned by 576 

Sun Bath 115 

"Sunbonnet Babies" 510 

Sunburn 146 

Sunstroke 583 

Sun, The Human 53 

Support, Man's Equipments for 234 

Woman's Equipment for 234 

Suppressed Menses 498 

Swallowing Pins, etc 581 

Sweeping Sick Eoom 592 

Swimming 112 

Helps Eound Shoulders .188 

Swiss Herb Tea in Childbirth . .399 

Standards of Education 457 

Switzerland, Progress in 457 

Prudent in Parentage 336 

Swollen Legs in Pregnancy 379 

Sympathy in Pregnancy 389 

Symptoms of Fevers 533 

Syncope 558 

Tabes 551 

Tablets 624 

Kemedies in 611 

Tact, Woman's 68 

Talents, Pre-Natal Culture 348 

Tall, Growing 76 

Women 63 

Tapioca Milk 609 

Easpberry Jelly 599 

Tattoo Marks 149 

Tea, Beef 601 

German Chamomile 497 

Giving Up 101 

Oatmeal 608 

Tokoine 396 

Teacher, When to Call the 532 

Woman is Mother and 487 

Teacher's Art, The 532 

Training School 458 

Teachers, Women as 483 

Teaching Sacredness of Body 461 

Technical Terms, Glossary 28 

Teeth, Hard Water for 89 

Care of 169, 179 

Enhance Beauty 179 

Brushing 180 

Paste for 180 

Powder for 180 

Wash for 181 

Polishes for 181 

Cavities of Decay 182 

"Ostine" for 182 

Decay of 446 

Teething 445 

a Critical Period 446 

a Natural Process 447 



Page 
Teething — Continued. 

Mortality in 445 

Nervousness from 530 

Preparation, A 445 

Symptoms of 446 

Temperament, Bilious 57 

Lymphatic 57 

Mental 57 

Mental, is Nervous 525 

Motive 57 

Nervous 57 

Phlegmatic 57 

Sanguine 57 

Yital 57 

Temperature of Bath 112 

Tenement Inspectors, Women as 484 

"Ten Times Ten" Breathing 128 

Testicles, The 285 

Text-Books by Women 486 

Therapeutics, Mental 626 

Thin People, Diet for 105 

Thirst in Fever 536 

Thought, Influence Upon Disease 490 

the Master-Builder 183 

Thoughts Build Expression 532 

Controlling by "Card Plan" 296 

Happy, the Best Tonic 538 

Throat, Inflammation of the 563 

Sore, and Quinsy 569 

Thrush 429 

in Pregnancy 385 

Tight Lacing Disfigures 77 

Tinctures, Dose of 624 

Toasted Oysters 602 

Tobacco a Cause of Catarrh 547 

Habit, The 547 

Retards Eecovery 547 

Toes, Ingrowing Nails 164 

Tonic, Egg 91 

Egg and Lemon 91 

Toothache in Pregnancy 378 

Tokoine 624 

in Childbirth 399 

Tea 396 

Tomato Soup 603 

Toast 607 

Tongue-Tied, Infant 430 

Tonic, Egg, No. 1 608 

Egg, No. 2 608 

Nux Vomica as a 548 

Training by Example 464 

Delay Favors Impurity 463 

Delay is Fatal 462 

Do Not Wait for Eeason 463 

for Conception 329 

Pure or Impure 462 

Eestraint and Stimulation 463 

"Sparrows or Wrens?" .467 

Special, to Begin Early 462 

Studying Motives 464 



INDEX. 



647 



Page 
Training — Continued. 

Teachers 458 

Through Feelings 463 

Through Love 463 

Trains for Dresses 203 

Traits Eeadily Transmitted 73 

Traveling Medicine Chest 612 

Treating Mv Own Case 500 

Treatment, Mental 626 

Tri-Cura Capsules 624 

Triturations 624 

Truth, Absolute 263 

Tuberculosis 551 

Tubes, Seminal, The 286 

Tumors of the Womb 494 

Turpentine for Lockjaw 574 

Twins, How Produced 324 

Two-Meal Plan, The 101 

Typhoid Fever 533 

Ulceration of the Uterus 496 

Ulcers 507 

Chronic 507 

Umbilical Cord, How to Cut 407 

Cord, Its Origin 360 

Uncleanliness Invites Cholera 543 

Underwaists 202 

Underwear 201 

Union, Conditions of Perfect 214 

Garments 202 

Urethra, The 287 

Urine Changes in Pregnancy 358 

Suppressed, Flaxseed for 608 

Uterus, Eupture of 410 

Nervousness from 529 

The 276 

Vagina, Oiling, in Labor. 405 

Eupture of 410 

The 275 

Vaginal Syringe at Change of Life 471 

Vapor Bath 120 

Varicose Veins 569 

Vasa Efferentia, The 286 

Eecta, The 286 

Vas Deferens, The 287 

Vegetable and Animal Breathing 123 

Eemedies 611 

Vegetables 92 

Cooking 104 

Veins, Varicose 569 

Ventilating Sleeping Eooms 123 

Ventilation 586 

Tested with Fowls 138 

The "Door-Fan" 138 

Using Lime or Charcoal 138 

Vessels, Care of 588 

Crocheting the Cover 588 

Vinegar Brush Bath 114 

Vitality, Maternity's Demand 63 

Vital Organs Affected through Skin. . . .108 

Temperaments, United 216 



Voice, Loss of 561 

Eich, Musical 65 

that Eings 128 

Vomiting 564 

Waist, Eound and Supple 191 

Walk, Graceful 194 

Learning to 423 

Warm Bath 113 

Warning, Special, to Boys and Girls 291 

Warts* 149, 164 

Water, Boiling the 592 

Brash in Pregnancy 377 

Cold, for Infant 421 

Distilled 593 

Falling into the 581 

for Baby 428 

for Children 444 

for Pregnant Woman 402 

Gum 609 

Impure, Diseases from 593 

in Convalescence 539 

Internal Use of 570 

Medicated, in Cholera 543 

Pure 592 

Soft, for Bath 107 

Supply 592 

Weak Back, Massage for 191 

Weaned Children, Nutrina for 598 

Weaning 435 

Aloes for 440 

Children, Nutrina for 598 

Drying Up the Milk 440 

Dyspepsia from 435 

Gradual 436 

Method of 439 

Mother's Diet for 440 

Time for 436 

Usual Ninth Month 436 

Wash for Breasts 440 

When Milk Falls Off. 441 

Wedded Privacy, The First 238 

Welfare of Country, Conditions of 481 

Wells 592 

Wet Nurse for Infants 436 

Wheat Mush 605 

Whey, Orange 607 

"Whites" in Pregnancy 385 

Whooping Cough 512 

Wife, Continence Helpful to 394 

Husband to Help 434 

to Advise in Business 257 

Wife's Insanity, Cause of 258 

Willard, Frances E 483, 487 

Mary B 487 

Will Power Controls Sexual Processes. . .288 

Power of Mother "s 348 

Wills, Strong, for Strong Passions 289 

Woman Admires Decision 246 

Admires Manly Ease 247 



648 



INDEX. 



Woman — Continued. 

Admires Self-Eespeet 247 

Becoming a 300 

Both Mother and Teacher 487 

Has Advanced 484 

is Liberty" 481 

Loves Domestic Tastes in Man... 250 

Loves Praise 247 

Love's Eeserve Power 246 

Man 's Ideal of *. . . 62 

Not to Criticise Husband 254 

Pregnant, Cheer for 395 

Eequires Appreciation 247 

Eequires Constancy 251 

Eequires Sincerity in Man 246 

the True Educator 451 

Womanhood, Highest Conception of . . . .318 

Woman's Best Work Eequires Health. . .489 

Christian Temperance Union 483 

Domestic Diplomacy 259 

Eloquence 68 

Exhaustion Seen by Husband. . . .258 

Finer Nerves 55 

Gentleness 73 

Home Interests Supreme 486 

Ideal of Man 245 

Influence in Public Affairs 481 

Influence over Man 218 

Intuition 68 

Intuitions 44 

Intuitions in Business 257 

Larger Work 482 

Later Power 482 

Life-Work 57 

Lonely Hours 253 

Love-Nature 44 

Nature Elastic 55 

Prospects in Public Affairs 487 

Eeserve 73 

Eight to Name the Day 232 

Sublime Mission 451 

Tact 68 

Where Ballot is Hers 489 

Wise Choice in Marriage 219 

Work of To-Day 484 

Womb ; Anteflexion of 494 

Anteversion of 492 

Cancer of 495 

Congestion of 492 

Displacements, Mental Treatment 

for 491, 494 

Falling of 490 

Inflammation of 491 

Influenced by Solar Plexus 525 

Ligaments of 277 

Miscarriage 368 

Nervousness from 529 

Polypus of 495 

Eetroflexion of < . - 494 

Retroversion of ...... 493 



Page 
Womb — Continued. 

Eupture of 410 

The 276 

Tumors of 494 

Ulceration of 496 

Women as Advertising Solicitors 486 

as Authors of Text-Books 486 

as Designers 486 

as Editors 486 

as Fiction Writers 486 

as Illustrators 486 

as Police Matrons 484 

as Preachers 487 

as Sculptors 486 

as Teachers 487 

at Head of Institutions 485 

Change of Life in 469 

Doctors 487 

How Made Beautiful. 292 

in Art 485 

in History 482 

in Horticulture 486 

in Landscape Gardening 486 

in Literature 486 

in Music and Acting 486 

• in Politics 487 

in Social Settlements 485 

Inventors 487 

Investors 487 

Lawyers 487 

Muscular 63 

on Magazines 486 

on Newspapers 486 

Probation Officers 484 

Professional and Society 486 

Short 63 

Should "Will to be Well" 489 

Single 483 

Stout 63 

Tall 63 

Tenement Inspectors 484 

Two Types of 482 

Who Persuade from Platform 482 

Who "Eadiate" 482 

Young, Need to be Educated 451 

Work a Fine Medicine 434 

Worms, Pin 519 

Eound 520 

Seat 519 

Stomach 520 

Thread 519 

Worry at Meals 106 

Impoverishes Milk 434 

Wraps 205 

Wrinkles 150 

Dislike of 474 

Young Women Need to be Educated. . . .451 

Youth, Organizations of 483 

Zinc for Disinfecting 590 

Zweibaek 606 



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